11:04 AM |
Taking control of news
22 February 2010
Written by Brent Edwards
New Zealand journalists can create an optimistic future if they step up and commit to quality, public-service journalism
About 10 years ago, a retiring newspaper editor remarked he was glad to be getting out of the industry.
In a private conversation, he said he had seen standards fall. He was particularly aghast at the expansion of what he considered superficial news coverage, with much more focus on celebrity news than on the sorts of stories that really mattered to the public.
What bothered him most was that, as an editor, he had done nothing to stop this decline in journalistic standards.
A decade on and little has changed in the New Zealand news media. Anecdotally, many journalists believe things are even worse and remain frustrated they are unable to stop the rot.
Those concerns about the state of journalism in New Zealand prompted the journalists' union, the EPMU, to hold its Journalism Matters conference in Wellington two years ago. The aim of the conference was to spark a wider debate about the issue.
Perhaps the response to this initiative is another sign of the journalistic malaise in New Zealand. While the conference was well attended and prompted wide-ranging debate, subsequent efforts by the union to tease out at least some of the concerns raised have not garnered a strong response.
Many journalists appear shell-shocked by the speed of change brought about by the internet revolution and economic recession. Most remain fearful about their futures or, at best, are struggling as their incomes remain static. Other likely champions of journalistic standards – journalism tutors, for instance – remain silent.
As part of our review of the state of journalism, we approached journalism tutors at their annual conference two years ago seeking their support. They were encouraged to get their students to use the Journalism Matters campaign to write submissions on the future of journalism. Two years on, neither students nor tutors have made submissions.
Journalists have had their say though, albeit slowly, and only after the union sent out a survey asking them to respond to a set of statements about journalism. More than 30 individual respondents agreed almost unanimously that pursuing the truth is the journalist's single most important objective. They also agreed that serving the public is the journalist's first responsibility, ahead of serving his or her employer.
Concerns were also expressed about the influence commercial pressures are having on news coverage. All but two believed news coverage is being negatively influenced by commercial pressures.
One respondent pointed to the cuts in the number of journalists working in the Parliamentary Press Gallery, as a result of amalgamations and overall staffing cuts, and the impact this has had on the scrutiny of politicians and the political process. He said this was also reflected in similar cuts in newsrooms across the country, leading to less scrutiny of business, the public service and local authorities.
Questions about the impact of new technologies on journalism divided respondents, but the majority were concerned about new media. Most believed new media are putting pressure on journalists and are a threat to journalistic standards.
Many argued website news outlets are not providing the substance and comprehensive coverage readers should expect from a newspaper. They argued the instant nature of internet news means the quality of what is being posted has declined compared with journalism in the mainstream media.
A few respondents welcomed the new media, saying it offers new and creative ways for journalists to tell their stories. However, the main response was that new media promote superficial and instant news.
The respondents did agree that public broadcasting, particularly in an environment where commercial pressures are so influential, has an important role to play.
A number of those views were also reflected in The New Zealand Herald's submission. Starting from a positive viewpoint, it said we are in exciting times because the internet has made it possible for everyone to be a journalist. The paper argued that journalists must:
- continue to seek opportunities for public journalism wherever they exist in the commercial media;
- create and support new, non-commercially-driven media outlets that provide public journalism; and
- uphold the values and importance of public journalism in the public mind.
The paper provided compelling if, at times, depressing information on newspaper circulation. The New Zealand Herald's circulation in 1974 was 235,000. Last year it was not quite 181,000. Other mainstream newspapers around the country – taking into account newspaper closures – have faced similar declines.
Despite a rising population, fewer people are now buying newspapers. Through that period, newspaper groups have consolidated ownership and commercial pressures, or the drive for profit, have intensified. That, together with falling sales, has led to increasing cuts in staffing levels, which clearly has an impact on journalistic quality and output.
The Herald submission also analysed news coverage. In 1988, 25 per cent of its coverage was of human tragedy – disasters, accidents, floods, fires, crime and court. Last year, that had risen to 34 per cent. Its coverage of celebrity news also expanded. But coverage of what the submission titled "public issues" dropped from nearly 60 per cent to less than 50 per cent.
The submission argued the Herald still has strengths to its coverage. It's not all bad news, but it went on to assert that much of what people need to know as "public citizens" is no longer fully covered. In its summary, the Herald recommended greater commitment to public-service journalism and also urged a revamp of the union's code of ethics.
So how pessimistic is the future for journalism?
Many journalists – as reflected in the Herald's submission – believe that, while the future of current news media platforms might be uncertain, the future of journalism is not. It requires, however, a commitment to quality, public-service journalism and that means journalists themselves have to start taking greater responsibility for what they do.
In too many newsrooms journalists are timid and do not stand up for the journalistic principles most of us believe are important to our craft. Age-old arguments from our editors that celebrity news and a diet of superficial news coverage is the way to halt falling circulations for newspapers and audiences for television and radio have proved to be false.
It is time for journalists to take back control of newsrooms and put quality journalism back at the centre of what their media organisations do, whether it's newspapers, radio, television or online.
Otherwise, when we retire, we will have the same regrets as the former newspaper editor who did nothing to stop the rot.
Brent Edwards is Radio New Zealand's political editor and convenor of the EPMU's Print and Media Council
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