Monday, April 6th, 2009...9:30 pm
So what is journalism?
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When I blogged last week about whether blogging is journalism, several people — through comments on Twitter and this blog — raised a key concept: Well, if blogging isn’t journalism, what is journalism?
That seemed a fair question, so I decided to consider it.
First, I crowd sourced the idea, asking my Twitter followers to define journalism in Twitter’s 140 characters or fewer. I got some thoughtful ideas, but before I get to them, let’s go straight to Webster’s.
What the dictionary says?
Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines journalism as:
1. a: the collection and editing of news for presentation through the media b: the public press c: an academic study concerned with the collection and editing of news or the management of a news medium.2. a: writing designed for publication in a newspaper or magazine b: writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation c: writing designed to appeal to current popular taste or public interest.
A few things I find interesting and actually odd in the dictionary definition:
- The first definition relies on journalism’s role aggregating (collecting) and disseminating (spreading around) of news. (I find that interesting because those two roles are so intrinsic to the online role of journalism.)
- The second definition notes that journalism is related to newspapers and magazines, but doesn’t mention TV or radio or the Web. (Interesting. But to me, the message is journalism, not the medium.)
- None of the definitions say anything about journalism being a profession or involving media organization or special training or education.
- The second definition notes that interpretation isn’t part of journalism. ( I find that odd because even old-school journalism contains much interpretation, analysis, making sense of things — or it should.)
I think the dictionary definition gives some sense of what journalism, but it doesn’t really explain it. In fact, I don’t think it jibes with the common understanding of journalism.
So let’s turn to my Twitter friends and see what they have to say. (All are direct quotes from the Twitter stream, but I did warn folks I’d be posting their responses on my blog. I’ve kept grammar, spelling, use of abbreviations and hashtags as they were to stay true to Twitterspeak.
What the tweets said:
stuntspeaker: Unbiased, in depth reporting. Press does not equal #journalism Journalism is adding layer, meaning, context, not just facts.
mwecker: writing/editing/recording of news/features/interviews/reviews 4 public consumption w aim of being as objective/fair as possible.
sliebler: #Journalism is helping people better understand their community and our world. How to do it? Write like you talk, only better.
jwschiff: #journalism is the art of relaying fact-checked information to an audience
jwschiff: hmm dunno if i would use the word “art” necessarily, i think fact-checked is the important part #journalism
mattdiaz: “There is the way things are and there is the way things should be. Journalism is the tension between the two.” – ??
DougSaunders: My definition of journalism: Never a profession or even a skilled trade, but a universal reflex of citizenship.
BordadoIngles: #journalism is the ability to tell (neatly) a real story as if you were different persons at the same circumstance.
luissantos: #journalism Gathering, analyzing, and disseminating socially relevant information in a consistent, transparent, and honest way.
MegKav: #journalism: Investigating events and reporting the findings in order to inform the public.
apowerpoint: Resisting the urge to spin and gossip when telling a story.
TimNekritz: Using storytelling to convey the search for large or small truths.
So what do I think?
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Before I explain what I think journalism is, I’ll tell you what it isn’t.
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Journalism isn’t the medium: It’s not the newspaper, the TV broadcast or blogging.
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Journalism doesn’t have be done by professionals with degrees or training. In fact, for much of journalism’s history, professionals didn’t do it. I’m old enough to have had co-workers who started out the old way, as copy boys and worked their way up — all without a j-school degrees. (Note, I’m not knocking education. I have both a bachelor’s and a master’s in journalism. My point is that people can “do journalism” without a degree.)
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Journalism isn’t tied to news organizations. I don’t think you have to work for a big company or a huge chain or a TV station to “do journalism.” Again, the first journalists weren’t part of big companies – they were a person and a printer. As an industry, we’ve become bureaucracies, but that doesn’t mean you need the bureaucratic trappings to do journalism.
Now, finally, so what the heck is journalism:
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Journalism is telling true stories, well and accurately.
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Journalism is communicating information that will help people make sense of their world. (Thanks, sliebler)
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Journalism is getting the story behind the story, avoiding the spin, finding the truth. (Thanks apowerpoint and TimNekritz.)
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Journalism is a public trust with citizens to investigate and expose wrongs and trumpet rights.
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Journalism is being part of a community, or as DougSaunders eloquently puts it, a “universal reflex of citizenship.”
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Journalism adds “meaning, context” to facts. (Kudos to stuntspeaker.)
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Despite what Merriam-Webster says, journalism is “gathering, analyzing, and disseminating socially relevant information in a consistent, transparent, and honest way.” (Thanks to luissantos for that one.)
This is just my definition, borrowing a bit from others. Add to it, digest it, distill it. Let me know what you think. Post a comment.
– Gina
I'm Gina Masullo Chen, a 20-year veteran newspaper journalist who is a Ph.D. candidate in mass communications. I want to see journalism survive. I believe news organizations need to embrace new media, change their thinking, improve their content and innovate. Read more about me 
26 Comments
April 6th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
To me, “journalism is the act of providing impartial, accurate information to empower a community to make decisions.“
April 6th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Very nice work! And I would say, then, that blogging isn’t journalism in the same way that printing a newspaper or magazine isn’t journalism. No medium can be said, categorically, to express a discipline (or trade, or possibly art). But, in the context of today’s conversations about the future of the newspaper and the effects of the Internet, to say that blogging isn’t journalism is all too easily taken to mean that blogging is never journalism. And that, I suspect, is the reason some people took exception to the headline of your previous post.
In light of the failure of media to document the torture carried out by the previous U.S. administration, it would perhaps be more useful to point out that newspapers, magazines, and television in the United States are very often not journalism.
April 6th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
@Daniel –
Like it — especially the empowerment part. Good add.
Thanks.
– Gina
April 6th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Bloggers just happen to be able to distribute their ideas more quickly and use a variety of media and connect with their audience by listening.
Much like the stories I delivered from the G20 Summit this week, Multimedia Blogging is the future of all media.
April 6th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
@Kenneth –
I think you make a good point: “But, in the context of today’s conversations about the future of the newspaper and the effects of the Internet, to say that blogging isn’t journalism is all too easily taken to mean that blogging is never journalism.”
I don’t at all mean to say blogging can never be journalism, but I do see how people could think that. And you aptly point out that newspapers, magazines and television have at times failed to be journalism.
I think there is value in separating the idea of journalism from the delivery system because the delivery system is changing, will continue to change.
Who knows .. in 100 years maybe a journalist will just beam information directly into the minds of readers a la the campy “Star Trek” episodes of the 1960s. (Obviously, I’m kidding here to make a point, which is that how journalists distribute news and information will keep changing. Some day, blogs will be considered “old media.”)
Thanks for adding to the conversation.
April 6th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
@@toddlucier –
I’d agree that blogging is faster and the future — at least for now. I believe modes of interaction and communication will continue to evolve. Who knows how we’ll report a story next. That to me makes it an exciting world.
– Gina
April 6th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Gina, this was a really cool concept for a post, and I enjoyed seeing everyone’s tweets.
You wrote that “Journalism is telling true stories, well and accurately.” It’s problematic to throw “true” in there because I don’t think journalism or journalists believe that they;re ever rarely writing about some objective truth. Sometimes if you’re lucky, there are indisputable facts, but I think journalism has more to do with conveying competing perspectives rather than truth.
April 7th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Honestly I couldn’t even read the rest of your post after I read this.
” if blogging isn’t journalism, what is journalism?”
Jesus. I have no idea of your credentials or who you are and I’m only going by your blog title but if your object is to “Save the Media” I suggest you stop conflating format with content.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Good points, Gina. As the old saying goes, “it’s not medium, it’s the message”.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Gina, Excellent post. So going back to your original question. Is blogging journalism? I would argue yes. If the standards of journalism apply — and if there is no requirement to be tied to a “news organization.” And there shouldn’t be any such requirement. IMO
On Twitter: @rsjewell
My blog: prontherun.wordpress.com
April 7th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
[...] So what is journalism? [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
@Jaclyn –
I think that’s a good point, although I think many journalists do believe they are printing objective truth.
However, I agree that there often is no such thing as objective truth. Plus, we all — journalists included — bring our feelings about a topic, our biases, our past experiences to the table, even if subsconsciously.
I really like your concept of journalism as: “conveying competing perspectives rather than truth. ” I especially like that you said competing perspectives, rather than both sides because I’d argue there are often more than two sides.
Good insights.
– Gina
April 7th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
@Walter L. Johnson II -
Yep — whatever format we use, we can still “do journalism.”
– Gina
April 7th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
@Rob Jewell –
Hmm. You say “So going back to your original question. Is blogging journalism? I would argue yes.”
I would argue sometimes. Sometimes, blogging is journalism. Sometimes it’s not. But what is important to me is that blogging — along with other media — can be a form for journalism.
– Gina
April 7th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
@Duncan Kinney –
If you want my “credentials,” feel free to check my “about me” section. It spells out my professional and academic background.
Also — I’m not saying blogging isn’t journalism. I’m saying that blogging is a medium, the same as a newspaper, a TV broadcast. What you say in a blog might be journalism, but the format itself isn’t.
I guess I don’t think I’m combining format with content. The whole point of the post was to separate the two.
– Gina
April 7th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Nice blog! I don’t think of blogging as journalism. No one edits your blog and it is mostly your opinion. When I think of journalism, I think of objective facts stated without opinion and in third person with normally an editor. This clearly does not always apply, especially in TV. However, that was the originally intention. I write for Suite 101, where they will not allow 1st or 2nd person, only third and no opinion. This is not as fun as my blog or inspiring, however I think that is what they mean by journalism – just the facts maam!
April 8th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
@Julie M –
Thanks. Glad you enjoy the blog.
I’m struck most by your comment “I write for Suite 101, where they will not allow 1st or 2nd person, only third and no opinion. This is not as fun as my blog or inspiring.”
I agree that the traditional notion of journalism excludes opinion and first and second person and requires an editor. My question, though, is does it have to to be journalism?
You acknowledge yourself that you find your blog more fun. Bet readers do, too.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could merge the best of both and let readers have fun with what we write. (When is the last time you heard someone describe reading a newspaper article as “fun.” Something wrong there.)
Just some food for thought.
– Gina
April 13th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
You’re right – journalism is journalism whether it’s 140 characters or 5,000 words.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
@Daniel – Exactly!
August 24th, 2009 at 11:52 am
I think that journalism is the act of writing a certain thing to help give information to ohter people or to state facts or spread gossip around the world.
November 8th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
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December 31st, 2009 at 2:58 pm
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August 1st, 2010 at 11:12 pm
All good ideas. Just wanted to add my 2 cents from the Print viewpoint. To be clear, I’m neither a journalist nor involved in a newspaper. I’m a semi-retired blogger who spent 30 years running a Print business and then a stint teaching in design school.
October 25th, 2011 at 9:12 am
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