The importance of "why" in journalism

Lindsay Wielonski

lw293117@ohio.edu

The #MeToo and Black Lives Matter Movements are two examples of movements that stem from essential issues that deeply affect people's lives each day. These movements have received large amounts of media attention worldwide that have ranged in journalistic quality. In the past decade, these movements have sparked ethical questions for journalists. What are the elements of journalism that make a piece of work truthful vs. sensationalizing an issue? 

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock 

Journalism's bad reputation of protest coverage 

Journalists have unfortunately earned a bad reputation when it comes to protesting coverage. Research published in The International Journal of Press/ Politics has shown that media attention to protests tends to be negative, stigmatizing protesters as deviant and depicting protests as violent (Chan and Lee 1984; McLeod and Hertog 1999). 

According to the Center for Journalism Ethics (republished by pointer.org), one common problem in protest reporting is that it often portrays protest coverage by framing it as "protesters vs. the police." Many other issues in protest reporting also stem from framing the story in a way that isn't representative of the movement. 

While covering protests, the Center for Journalism Ethics recommends that journalists should "Remember that protesters are part of the community and that they are citizens actively engaged in trying to bring about positive social change. Whether the audience agrees with them or not, it's important to see them not as troublemakers but as active citizens expressing opinions and attempting to make changes in society."

How can journalists cover protests and movements without sensationalizing them? 

Care, compassion, and empathy are essential when covering a protest. While sensationalizing focuses on the "wow" factor of a story, scare tactics, or clickbait, people-first journalism prioritizes the people part of a community who have something to say. 

Focusing on the "why" rather than "what" is an effective tool for journalists to produce good-quality work about protests. For example, a piece that sensationalizes an issue might choose to interview the person with the boldest take. It might include the most gruesome video/ photos for shock value. In contrast, a reporter who does a protest justice would focus on why people are protesting and get to the root of what social change people want to see. Asking "why" to get to the meaning of a cause is essential in protest coverage.