The Journalism Dilemma: How We Fix It
As I write, a TV nearby is tuned to the Cable News Network. The current story is about supporters of the new president-elect Donald Trump, and I’m not at all surprised by the newscaster’s connotations. Broad generalizations without any evidence are used freely, a single story of one supporter is equated to the many, and conclusions are made with shaking heads. The next story sees the anchors discussing Trump's tweets to China while B-roll of the Chinese army plays silently.Without crossing the line of political correctness, their message is pretty clear.Today, journalism is not what it was. It’s done differently, it looks different, heck, it's even delivered in a radically different method. Journalism has become a spineless force for pandering analysis, an echo chamber of rhetoric, a mirror for the audience. It does not serve to make people uncomfortable with the truth, but serves to reinforce their prejudice. Modern journalism has chosen the lazy road of not truly saying anything that matters.I believe Christians are in a unique position to rescue journalism. It sounds crazy, but I can back up this claim!Christians have the unique ability to rescue journalism because they have a healthy worldview, ample resources, and possess astonishing connections to other believers around the world who can act as contacts. I believe Christians should be some of the greatest supporters and producers of real, unsensationalized, fair journalism.
Current Affairs
The lowest form of popular culture - lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people's lives - has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage.- Carl Bernstein
I could simply assume you’ve heard about the ‘fake news’ phenomenon, or likewise assume you’ve already discussed it with your friends and family. Maybe you saw a news story about the decline of journalism. Regardless, I’m sure no reader of this article needs convincing that journalism is in a bad place.For thoroughness, though, I’ll prove it to you.
A 2013 study done by the Indiana University School of Journalism, which included over 1,000 journalistic professionals, indicated that over 60% of journalists believe journalism is headed in the wrong direction. That’s six out of ten journalists, acknowledging that their craft is not what they’d want it to be. The same study goes on to show that newsroom staffs are shrinking, subscriptions are dropping, and the average age of the journalist continues to increase, meaning there aren’t as many young people entering the field. By journalism’s own admission, things don’t look good. Furthermore, a simple Google search will yield dozens of musings about how journalism got to where it is today. Some are written by critics, bloggers, pundits, indeed even journalists themselves.Gone are the days when mainstream journalists acted as champions of justice for the marginalized or voiceless. The kind of journalism that exposed the Watergate scandal doesn't seem anywhere to be found. Instead, we're left with news stations that, to stay alive, are forced to pander to a specific audience in order to get enough views to stay alive.That journalism is in a bad position is no debate, the real questions are a) how we got here and b) what to do about it.
I think now is a good time to mention this is the second of a two-part article. If you'd like to get (a) answered, check out part 1 to learn about the history of journalism up to this point. There I discuss the progression and evolution of journalism and distinguish its three key functions. It's essential knowledge moving forward- after all you need to know why a thing needs fixed before you get to the how. Once you've read that, hit the back arrow and I'll discuss (b).
Bias, Objectivity, and Worldview
Since I know what you're thinking, I'll go ahead and answer the obvious question first: If Christians are supporting or producing journalism, doesn't that mean they'll create inherently biased media?And to you, skeptic consumer, I would say yes. Yes, it does. But this is not automatically bad.
I think perfect objectivity is an unrealistic goal; fairness, however, is not.- Michael Pollan
You see, good journalism never claims to be completely and utterly objective. Instead, good journalism knows that bias is a reality inherent to every single person on the planet, and producing a fair product is dependent on methods used to test and present evidence. The American Press Institute writes, "Objectivity called for journalists to develop a consistent method of testing information – a transparent approach to evidence – precisely so that personal and cultural biases would not undermine the accuracy of their work."
There's the key- transparency. All news comes from biased people, but that doesn't mean those people shouldn't try to create fair work. Christians, then, would not need to hide the fact that they are Christian- I'd argue that they should even profess it- because the first step to fair journalism is acknowledging and managing bias.I think it's also important to note that among the many worldviews represented in the world, Christianity is the healthiest. Disclaimer: I am biased because I'm a Christian, but from a theological lens it makes sense. For the uninitiated, here's a crash-course test on Christian theology.Christians do not claim to be citizens of this earth (Philipians 3:20). This doesn't mean they claim to be part of some alien race or something kooky like that, just that their allegiance to God far outweighs any earthly ties they might have developed or been born with- such as ethnicity or nationality. Because of this, a Christian journalist would not need to defend his or her country or company in case of a conflict of interest. This might sound bad, but as soon as journalism begins working for a person or nation, society regresses back into the middle ages. With Christian journalists, the truth would matter much more than the result.Christians also have a big word that informs their actions: sovereignty. You see, Christians don't fear earthly happenings because they know that their God is bigger than anything that could happen. Time and time again in the Bible, God uses hopeless situations to produce life-giving results. His work is transformational, and no matter if it's a story about husbands dying, a nation turning away from God, or a man being nailed to a cross, God never leaves any plot holes unfinished. His sovereignty means that Christian journalists would not be afraid of the ugly, or the depressing, but would bravely bring dark to light under the knowledge that God wants to use it for some form of good.I could go on. Christians have a high respect for the dignity of human life. Christians can be dangerous since they already have guaranteed eternal life. Christians were even some of the first people to do journalism (look at Luke!). If you aren't a Christian, you likely won't agree- but that's ok. I hope that one day you'll see the work produced by Christians and rethink some opinions.
Money and the Missionary Model
If you've read the prologue to this post, you know a large part of the reason journalism is in the mud it's in is because it can't seem to make money in the evolving digital landscape that wants to leave it behind. Newspapers are costly business to keep afloat, and the bigger the staff and stories the more revenue they must generate. Is the answer, then, more ads on the website?By no means! Christians can easily fund good journalism.Yeah, I said it. It's pretty bold (heh). Allow me to explain.According to Pew Research, 70% of Americans claim to be Christians. That's a lot of percents for the leading country in the free world. Tithers alone- which only make up about a quarter of all evangelicals- donated around 50 billion in 2013, according to Christianity Today, which is definitely not an insignificant number. I'm not saying Christians should support the entire industry, but if Christians will just as easily give to a nonprofit social-work company, or a high school missions trip, why not journalism?Journalism works best when it doesn't need to be popular enough to pay the bills. When a journalist doesn't need to generate enough overhead to keep the lights on, he or she is freed to cover the stories that matter. Take Ghanaian investigative reporter Anas Aremeyaw Anas as an example.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRTTPs-AujA]Now admittedly, Anas is pretty intense. He doesn't falsely claim objectivity, and his very slogan lets you know what kind of stories he writes. He may be as much of a social justice advocate as much as he is a journalist, but notice one thing: Anas is effective. He produces journalism that causes real change in the world, hearkening back to a day when journalists were the enemy of private corruption. Why, though, is he so effective?Anas is able to investigate and report so well because he isn't funded by any single organization, instead funded by donations. He doesn't need to produce a certain number of articles- instead, he can focus on what matters: the story. I believe anonymous Christians supporting courageous journalists would allow the journalists to investigate and report unhindered by the people they support. Only through anonymous, individual donations could a journalist truly be free from the pressures of pandering to a specific group of people in order to continue in the business- and Christians have the unique opportunity to do just that.
Worldwide Connections
Lastly, Christians do great journalism because they have available contacts in virtually every area in the world. At 2.2 billion, Christianity is by far the largest religion in the world, and its members are spread all over the globe.
Because of this, a Christian would instantly have common ground with locals nearly anywhere news could happen. This means that rather than try to send a reporter to a foreign country or city to report, a journalist could simply talk with a Christian who lives in the area for a much more accurate depiction of what's actually going on. After all, a local who has spent their whole life somewhere is able to know the culture, sense trends, and communicate much better than any journalist with a travel guide could.That's not to say we don't need trade journalists- just that when something in the world happens, trained Christian journalists would have instant access to knowledgeable contacts worldwide. Exact data about missionaries is difficult to find because of the clandestine nature of some missions, but it's safe to say that anywhere people are found, Christians can be found also.An example where this might be beneficial would be journalistic coverage of Israel from the past few years. Because journalists are often simply sent overseas to be correspondents in a place they've never traveled before, Matti Friedman of the AP Press reports that they're easy targets for anti-Israel politicians. If an independent Christian journalist were to cover the same story, though, they could reach out to a network of missionaries who know the culture inside and out, who have a variety of political opinions and agendas, rather than just that of the powerful politician.
So What?
We need Christian journalists. We all do. Regardless of your belief system, Christians are part of a select group of individuals who are actually positioned to earnestly rescue journalism from the sold-out state it's found itself in during modern times.With Christians contributing to the global newsroom with their own pens and paper, journalism could continue to grown and evolve healthily. Institutions could be exposed, politicians kept in check, and international events covered more accurately than ever before. It's not a new form of journalism- it's just new writers.
With this knowledge, I've launched a website called The New News to begin this movement. Here I will showcase Christian journalists who create stories and articles that inform, expose, and analyze without needing to pander to an audience. On the site the public can read articles, learn about current events through several different articles on the same subject, and donate to make journalism possible.My dream is that one day this site would turn into a network for Christian journalists and a home to world-altering journalism done right. There will be no false claims of objectivity, no subliminal messages to suit an agenda. Journalism on the site won't claim to have all the answers to solve every problem anyone ever faces, but we will inform to cultivate better decisions. When other networks simply echo their peers, the New News network will offer new, engaging angles. The stories will be real, unsensationalized, and honest.My dream is that one day this site would turn into a network for Christian journalists and a home to world-altering journalism done right. There will be no false claims of objectivity, no subliminal messages to suit an agenda. Journalism on the site won't claim to have all the answers to solve every problem anyone ever faces, but we will inform to cultivate better decisions. When other networks simply echo their peers, the New News network will offer new, engaging angles. The stories will be real, unsensationalized, and honest.At least, that's the vision. Today, I've set a foundation. Now all that's left to do is the reporting. I acknowledge that it won't be easy.But it will be worth it.