Journalistic ethics

There is little doubt that the digital age has put pressure on journalists and journalism. With the demise of the classified ad, and changes in advertising overall, traditional print media simply cannot survive in traditional ways.

The initial response by major newspapers was to publish online versions. Eventually, many installed paywalls to offset the loss of revenue. As it’s continued to evolve, journalism has arrived at its difficult-to-define present stage.

The “democratization of media” has created the, somewhat bizaare, birth of the “citizen journalist”- someone with no journalistic training (including, I believe crucially, training in journalistic ethics) who is a journalist because they say they are a journalist. It’s accelerated the formation of information “echo chambers”, populated by self-proclaimed “opinion journalists” such as Sean Hannity. The fantasist Alex Jones, of course, also purports to be a journalist, only to pretend never to have made such a claim when people take shot guns into pizzerias based on his “reporting”.

Recently, the zero-accountability media, in the guise of “Project Veritas”, launched a clumsy attempt to discredit the Washington Post’s reporting on sexual assault allegations against Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore. Veritas was so unfamiliar with the basic norms of fact-checking and source-verifying, they barely tried to cover their tracks.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are numerous authoritarian regimes launching naked assaults against the free press. Around the world, more and more journalists are being imprisoned and killed. One of the first moves to consolidate power made by Vladimir Putin was to eliminate the free press, with many critical reporters ending up behind bars and “mysteriously” losing their lives.

As social animals, human beings have an instinctive drive to share information and warn one another of danger. Journalism isn’t going anywhere. In many crucial respects, the world we inhabit is becoming more dangerous. Degradation of the biosphere, climate change, competition over dwindling resources escalate apace with rising global population and concentration of wealth. This puts an added responsibility on journalists to do their work honestly and professionally, resisting the temptation to tell people what they want to hear and bend to the will of those in power.

The Washtenaw Voice

The “student publication of Washtenaw Community College” is a really good example of classic print journalism. The stories are tight, informative, and relevant to WCC students. From, “College graduates return to WCC for new career paths”– a look at how students in Health-care occupations can take classes at Washtenaw to develop their careers, to “The Enchanted Escape”– a story covering a concert put on by the Out Loud Chorus, an LGBT organization at WCC, the stories deal directly with student life. There are some announcements about upcoming events, student opinions about the weather in “Voice Box”, tips for avoiding the flu.

The Voice is also visually engaging, all of the stories feature relevant pictures. Including a photo with an interview is especially effective, it strengthens the reader’s human connection with the interviewee. Even the flag includes pictures. in fact, most of the space devoted to the “women’s march” piece is taken up by pictures, and that is really my one argument with the paper: perhaps, in an effort to avoid any impression of bias, the information provided tends to be a bit superficial. I would appreciate a story here and there about politics, world events, global issues that affect local communities.

The Washtenaw Voice, as a student newspaper focusing on the immediate WCC community, does a very good job of staying relevant in today’s digital age. It’s appealing, compelling, and professionally put together. If I was running it, I would maybe just add a little macro to the micro.