Wounded and limping, doubting its own future, American journalism seems to be losing a quality that carried it through a century and a half of trials: its swagger.
Swagger is the conformity-killing practice of journalism, often done in defiance of authority and custom, to tell a true story in its completeness, no matter whom it might offend. It causes some people to subscribe and others to cancel their subscriptions, and gives journalists the necessary courage and direction to do their best work. Swagger was once journalism’s calling card, but in recent decades it’s been sidelined. In some venues, reporters now do their work with all the passion of an accountant, and it shows in their guarded, couched and equivocating copy. Instead of relishing controversy, today’s newsrooms shy away from publishing true stories that […]
A through article for the most part. As the article states:
“Swagger is the conformity-killing practice of journalism, often done in defiance of authority and custom, to tell a true story in its completeness, no matter whom it might offend.”
How wonderful. Notice, however, the total disappearance of Julian Assange in the article? It’s not as if inprisoning a journalist for multiple years for exposing the empire’s war crimes will have any effect on journalism. Nay, never happen.
Yes, the business model has changed to a subscription model for individual reporters. Well, that has been driven by the wholesale theft of news by organizations like Google with a model of “information wants to be free”, but it’s not free to produce. Google, not coincidently, dominates the on line ad business. Although, on a positive note we do have a local web only “Newspaper”, in California recently win a Pulitzer.
There are underlying issues which will continue to remain. As the article states: “Journalism, he adds, has become a profession for college-educated, intellectual types while nudging aside the working-class kids who used to break into the business as copy boys or stringers. “We don’t see the big, colorful, spit-in-your-eye columnists who once roamed the newsroom — Mike Royko, Jimmy Breslin, Jack Germond, Pete Hamill and Nicholas von Hoffman.” This is very true. We now have a distinct class divide between journalist who are better educated and the wealthy who they cover. It all then becomes about access. Working class issues rarely are covered in depth, and they are subordinated to a dominate class narrative.
Lastly, many no longer trust the media. This is a self inflicted wound earned after many years of serving power. Those journalists who tell the truth will be rewarded ( if their not inprisoned). My media landscape has been forced to expand in order to gain access to stories not covered by American outlets. You will find others who will do the same. It will be interesting to see how the Government chooses to respond.