5. Journalistic practices and the quality of journalism
Themes
If there is a unifying theme covering three very different phenomena in this section, it is that journalism is now much less of an ‘elite' practice and much more a democratising one. The studies raise very real issues for the quality of journalism, a practice that has been bound by strict ethical guidelines. The increased use of bloggers, many of whom are not drawn from the ranks of publication's full–time journalists, the increasing blurring between journalism and public relations, with practitioners of both arts now being educated within the same tertiary courses, and the increasing use of outside commentators to complement opinion pages are all aspects of these developments.
The three articles are brief introductions to what are seen by some as adverse trends within the industry. As such they need to be seen not as final research, but as a series of questions raising further issues for debate.
Alana Mann explains that "churnalism" is the uncritical of use of press releases and other pre–packaged material as news stories, usually without acknowledgment of the material's provenance. The use of such material by journalists, without seeking alternate viewpoints, and without making their own inquiries, is a direct challenge to the quality of journalism. Claims of an increased incidence of the uncritical use of such source material are as yet unquantifiable and anecdotal. The Council is aware of at least one study currently underway in which academic researchers are seeking data on the use of press releases, and whether they are published verbatim, with or without alternate viewpoints being sought.
The rise of the citizen journalist, an adjunct to the use of bloggers, has seen more ‘ordinary readers’ become reporters as well. The electronic media are increasing reliant on citizen journalists to provide news footage for their broadcasts, and much of this footage is also to be found on print media websites. Nicola Goc examines the rise of the citizen journalist and its impact on quality and on making newspapers and magazines more immediately responsive to their readers.
In the third paper, Chris McLeod wrestles with another way by which the media gain access to stories: by paying sources for the exclusive rights to their information. This practice is not new to journalism but the discussion of its ethics is a perennial one, and one that needs re–examination in the light of the use of PR material and of unattributable leaks as other sources for news.