{"id":88,"date":"2005-11-29T01:45:48","date_gmt":"2005-11-29T08:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=88"},"modified":"2008-11-14T09:27:00","modified_gmt":"2008-11-14T17:27:00","slug":"sneaking-up-on-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=88","title":{"rendered":"Sneaking Up On Journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Let&#8217;s face it&#8230;The mainstream, corporate press is an insular confederation of stenographers in the newsroom and charlatans in the boardroom.<\/p>\n<p>Reporters who are obsessed with access and privilege cannot possibly be relied upon for balance and insight. That&#8217;s why what often passes for balance is just the presentation of falsehood as a response to truth. Many reporters fear that providing context, or facts, will be perceived as subjectivity. By leaving out those critical elements, falsehood and truth are left to be judged as credible equals.<\/p>\n<p>The executive suites of the ever-consolidating media giants are populated by seekers of profit and power. They are more interested in the performance of their stock than the practice of responsible journalism. And since their financial interests are aligned with those of their advertisers, and their patrons in Washington, the public they purport to serve will almost always be shortchanged.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the obvious dysfunction evident in this system, one thing they have expertly engineered is their own self-defense. Should the specter of honorable reportage emerge from the moat, gendarmes will repel it with dispatch. The only way, therefore, to storm the castle, is to sneak up on it from behind.<\/p>\n<p>Feature writers are in a unique position to have a beneficial impact on the state of journalism and the world around them. Who says these niche reporters can&#8217;t insert socially relevant content into their stories? In a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?p=87\">prior article<\/a>, I wrote of how Tim Rutten of the Los Angeles Times used his column on media criticism to lambaste the hollowness of a recent speech by the Vice President, as well as the failure of the media to provide coherent coverage of the speech. Why can&#8217;t that be a model for other feature columnists?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Restaurant reviewers could remind their readers to be grateful that they are able to eat, much less eat out at fine restaurants.<\/li>\n<li>Sports writers could explore athletic scholarships and broader educational curriculum issues.<\/li>\n<li>Business columnists could cover business from labor&#8217;s perspective and investigate corporate political activity.<\/li>\n<li>Auto columns could address global warming.<\/li>\n<li>Medical columnists could provide information about universal healthcare.<\/li>\n<li>The real estate pages might consider stories on homelessness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The point I&#8217;m making here is that, if we can&#8217;t get our voices heard in conventional news forums, then maybe we should be unconventional. These special interest columns have a broad appeal and are sometimes the only way to reach readers that pay little attention to the frantic world depicted on the front pages. This could be a way to have an impact by hitting people where they live &#8211; in their homes, cars, restaurants, parks, temples, theaters, etc. Perhaps we need to undertake the initiative to inspire writers of this specialty content to take a stand once in awhile, and to show that they care about the real world that their specialties embrace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let&#8217;s face it&#8230;The mainstream, corporate press is an insular confederation of stenographers in the newsroom and charlatans in the boardroom. Reporters who are obsessed with access and privilege cannot possibly be relied upon for balance and insight. That&#8217;s why what often passes for balance is just the presentation of falsehood as a response to truth. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[41],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-tim-rutten"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-1q","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":446,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=446","url_meta":{"origin":88,"position":0},"title":"The Daily Show To The Media: Be More Honest","author":"Mark NC","date":"5\/23\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"In October of 2004, I wrote an essay entitled, \"The Real Fake News.\" It was premised on my observation that Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, commonly labeled \"fake\" news, provided more accurate representations of news events more often (and more compellingly) than the so-called \"real\" news. And conversely, the \"real\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art\/Culture&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art\/Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8851,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=8851","url_meta":{"origin":88,"position":1},"title":"Fox Nation vs. Reality: Mitt Romney&#8217;s Chinese Jeep Myth Revisited","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/15\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"When Fox News grabs hold of a blatant and self-serving lie, they just won't let go no matter the cost to their credibility (assuming they had any). The latest of example of this destructive tenacity is a story on Fox Nation that unbelievably declares that \"Romney Was Right: Chrysler CEO\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3288,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3288","url_meta":{"origin":88,"position":2},"title":"Sarah Palin Like Really Likes Journalism And Stuff","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/24\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Sarah Palin ventured outside of the safety of her Facebook fortress to brave an interview with the pugnacious Sean Hannity on Fox News. The conversation turned to her infamous interview with Katie Couric and the broader subject of journalism. On the latter she offered this critique and her hope to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":682,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=682","url_meta":{"origin":88,"position":3},"title":"Journalists Say Most Of Iraq Too Dangerous To Visit","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/29\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"While the White House and its legions of RepubliPundits are busily pounding out praise for the newly tranquil environs of Iraq, observers at the scene have a very different tale to tell. The Project for Excellence in Journalism recently completed a survey of war correspondents that describes harrowing circumstances wherein\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8474,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=8474","url_meta":{"origin":88,"position":4},"title":"Fox Nation vs. Reality: The White House Did Not Edit CIA Talking Points","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/19\/2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Earning a place at the top of the Fox Nation web site this morning is story that complies perfectly with the non-existent journalistic standards of Fox News. The article cites the uber-conservative blog FreeBeacon and features the headline \"White House Deleted Al Qaeda From CIA Talking Points.\" Get the New\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":283,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=283","url_meta":{"origin":88,"position":5},"title":"Prodigal Journalism","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/20\/2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The pain, the sorrow, the loss, that could have been avoided had these reporters done their job, is immeasurable. Better late than never? That's a relative appraisal. When the Conventional Media lags behind the public, and the truth, the consequences can be serious, even fatal. The late revelations of some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}