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The Rise of Professional Journalism

Reconsidering the roots of our profession in an age of media crisis.

By Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols

It comes as a surprise to many to learn that the notion of objectivity or simply professional journalism is a relatively recent development in the United States. In the first one hundred-plus years of the republic, journalism tended to be highly opinionated and partisan. Indeed, the first few generations of U.S. journalists—the years from Madison and Jefferson to Jackson and… return to article

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    I can’t wait to dig up this book and read it, esp. the Fenton book cited. While expense was certainly one reason why international journalism declined in the 80s and 90s, my experience as a freelancer was different: Lack of interest, period. A freelancer doesn’t really cost the printing medium anything extra. I had good subjects, ranging from real-life from East Germany, to solid evidence of the Iron Curtain coming apart in Hungary, from controversial atomic plants, to all sorts of interesting technical stuff. Believe me: There was NO INTEREST. It was foreign, it was different from waht the editors expected or wanted.

    So I would say, from my experience, that it was the editors who changed in the 80s and 90s, becoming highly conservative in their mindset, not to say craven, the readership was changing as well, the USA, in a word, was beginning its path back to isolationism.

    Sweden Posted by Talleyrand on Dec 8, 2005 at 4:02 PM

    Great Article, its cleared up a lot of issues I’ve been having recently with paper.  Sometimes too much fibre really stalls my system. 

    Seriously though, with the election coming, I finally realized that my daily read, the Globe and Mail, is simply a Liberal mouthpiece.  Suprised I didn’t see it sooner.  I still like the coverage but what gets me are their carefuly written surveys predicting the winner.  Liberals still on top despite scandal.  My partisan news predicts the NDP are going to win a minority government.

    Canada Posted by VikiBabu on Dec 9, 2005 at 9:06 AM

    Well said. I’m one of those people who scouts the internet for foreign papers to get not only world news but also a different slant on U.S. news. That slant is not always unbiased, of course, but it does add a dimension we’re missing here and gives a clearer picture of attitudes toward us that our politicians and media would prefer we didn’t see.  I also live near the Canadian border and sometimes catch news on Canadian tv.  A nice balance to some of our more hysterical and overblown U.S. reportage.

    IslandMolly

    United States Posted by islandmolly on Dec 10, 2005 at 12:24 PM

    There is no such thing as unbiased news, really, since even omissions create bias, nolens volens; But indeed, having various viewpoints does help readers get a somewhat more holistic view of events. It’s more than just plonking down a few divergent views on a particular topic, however, it’s often a cultural thing, a completely different approach. But US news (and my experience mentioned above confirms this) is designed often in a Hollywood fashion, that is it needs specific elements and the characters are often typecast. Thus, Africa is: famine, massacres, AIDS. Europe in general is sleazy philosophers, endless thinking and fairly freewheeling sex. I tried to sell an article on eco-tourism on Zanzibar: No way. African film? No one has ever heard of it. African literature? The British might know people like Tutuola or Achebe. In America --- Blank. I dare not mention Moslems… They’ve been terribly manhandled by the press these past few years.

    This is not rank ignorance, it is insularity rather, and the news media tend to support it. So yes, a news mix is good. And having a proper army of foreign correspondents who know the countries they are covering and, better yet, the languages spoken in those countries would be a real boon to the news media. But are they really interested in that or are they interested rather in turning a buck...?

    (PS: I used to listen to the CBC as well on shortwave).

    Sweden Posted by Talleyrand on Dec 10, 2005 at 2:21 PM

    Great article, I think we really need to forge and support a media system that is independent of power.

    Check this “Independent Media Marketplace” I recently came across:
    http://imediamarketplace.org

    I’m not sure how but we need to significantly expand the audience of current progressive independent media outlets and producers. Seems like there is so much out there, but so many just do not know about it, or realize the problem with the corporate media.

    Canada Posted by ryaninfo on Dec 10, 2005 at 4:32 PM

    First off, this is a very thoughtful and well-written article. With that said, I know this is very picky to point out and off the topic, but my only complaint is the continued misattribution of “Go West, young man.” In this article it’s a very fine example of today’s journalism lacking the flavor of its ancestors. But, in actuality, it was first written by John Soule in a Terre Haute, Indiana, newspaper in 1851, then republished by Greeley.

    United States Posted by Arthur Dent on Dec 13, 2005 at 5:00 PM

    Great article from an even better book.  And I enjoyed hearing firsthand the authors’ articulate passion this evening in Chicago.  A key point for me in the article is the amazing value of a GOOD partisan media array.  Not the shallow, entertainment-oriented namecalling partisanship we get from too many fronts.  But rather honest, coherent and sustained partisan journalism that fairly and consistently argues for its vision, and that thereby engages the citizens in the issues they care about.

    So how do we restore that partisan vitality and variety to the media?  How do we help citizens distinguish good partisanship from bad?  I was disappointed that the book’s final chapter didn’t directly address this issue.

    What if someone like FreePress.net created a “Good Partisanship Rating” for Internet blogs and newsletters as a start?  Create a rating system for how well an outlet defined, argued and supported it’s vision while treating alternative viewpoints fairly.  NOT rating whether the vision is good or bad, but simply whether it is being fairly delivered.  Allow the various authors to apply for a rating.

    Then provide a clearinghouse for interested readers to locate the “Good Partisans” that address the topics they care about.  I could even envision an aggregation service that, for a fee, would allow me to assemble the various partisan streams that help me stay on top of my favorite hot button issues.

    United States Posted by ChiBN on Dec 13, 2005 at 11:18 PM

    Very interesting read on the future of journalism, though it tends to ignore the expanding and egalitarian influence of the internet in promoting smaller yet more diverse news sources.

    Maybe the Weekly Standard and the DailyKos are not the stuff of evil incarnate as each side would believe.

    United States Posted by Jay Cline on Dec 15, 2005 at 3:33 PM
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