Comments on: Advocacy Journalism http://newmediatheory.net/2008/07/28/advocacy-journalism/ McLuhan meets Raymond Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:51:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: admin http://newmediatheory.net/2008/07/28/advocacy-journalism/#comment-720 admin Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:26:01 +0000 http://newmediatheory.net/2008/07/28/advocacy-journalism/#comment-720 I certainly felt I had found something like your 'old pig' when I read the definition of 'advocacy journalism'. I agree that it is about survival and that no matter what they do much of their business, like classified advertising, is irretrievably lost for purely technological reasons. I appreciate hearing of your experience as a reporter and learning that some of Fournier's proposals simply reflect a basic conflict in journalism between needing to hold readers and also maintain standards. I certainly felt I had found something like your ‘old pig’ when I read the definition of ‘advocacy journalism’. I agree that it is about survival and that no matter what they do much of their business, like classified advertising, is irretrievably lost for purely technological reasons. I appreciate hearing of your experience as a reporter and learning that some of Fournier’s proposals simply reflect a basic conflict in journalism between needing to hold readers and also maintain standards.

]]> By: Dick Stanley http://newmediatheory.net/2008/07/28/advocacy-journalism/#comment-717 Dick Stanley Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:32:16 +0000 http://newmediatheory.net/2008/07/28/advocacy-journalism/#comment-717 For what it's worth, I would argue that this "accountability" journalism is lipstick on an old pig. Newspapers I'm familiar with are losing money, primarily, because of Monster dot com and Craigslist. Not because they are biased. They have always been biased. True, the blogosphere is pointing up their bias in new, often quite startling, ways but, so far, they're resisting the lessons. Except, perhaps, to create stuff like "accountability journalism," to try to excuse what they've been doing for a long time. Years ago, when I was still a reporter, I was introduced, by a new editor, to two new concepts for work. One was to "write with authority," which is easy to do, but not very meaningful when you've only made a few phone calls about something. The other was to eliminate "too much" attribution. It was supposed to help the flow, or something, for the reader. Plus make the reporter seem more authoritative. It seems to me that something similar to these two concepts are about all that Fournier is pushing, while dressing it all up with vague, high-falutin' explanations. It will certainly increase the bias already being practiced through choice of sources, quotes and background material. But it won't do anything to bring back classified advertising. For what it’s worth, I would argue that this “accountability” journalism is lipstick on an old pig.

Newspapers I’m familiar with are losing money, primarily, because of Monster dot com and Craigslist. Not because they are biased. They have always been biased. True, the blogosphere is pointing up their bias in new, often quite startling, ways but, so far, they’re resisting the lessons.

Except, perhaps, to create stuff like “accountability journalism,” to try to excuse what they’ve been doing for a long time.

Years ago, when I was still a reporter, I was introduced, by a new editor, to two new concepts for work. One was to “write with authority,” which is easy to do, but not very meaningful when you’ve only made a few phone calls about something. The other was to eliminate “too much” attribution. It was supposed to help the flow, or something, for the reader. Plus make the reporter seem more authoritative.

It seems to me that something similar to these two concepts are about all that Fournier is pushing, while dressing it all up with vague, high-falutin’ explanations. It will certainly increase the bias already being practiced through choice of sources, quotes and background material.

But it won’t do anything to bring back classified advertising.

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