THE REBIRTH OF JOURNALISM

A big city mayor conceals an addiction to crack. A director of education falls into the temptation of plagiarizing material in a doctoral dissertation. A senator incorrectly declares a home address simply to allow him to sit in the Senate while spending most of his time fundraising for his elected collegues in his party. A white vigilante stalks and confronts a black youth, ultimately resulting in the shooting death of the youth. An auto manufacturing company is proven to have falsified claims regarding their product's fuel efficiency and emissions ratings.

The list goes on and on. The number of transgressions and illegal acts which are covered up and swept under the rug is countless. People involved in these acts do not want the general public to know about their actions, mainly out of fear of consequences, or exposure of the "good thing" they have going. They try everything possible to avoid facing up to their responsibilities because of greed, entitlement and loss of position, power or prestige.

The only way these and other wrongdoings are properly dealt with is exposure of the truth of the wrongdoings. And the only way these things are exposed to the general public is through a free, independent and professional core of dedicated journalists, who are willing to dig for the truth, risk ridicule and condemnation from those they seek to expose , and even putting their lives on the line in the performance of their duty.

The importance of a free, independent and professional press cannot be overstated. In the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a free press is specifically identified as one of the eight basic freedoms guaranteed for all. In the United States Constitution, a free press is guaranteed in the First Amendment. And in the United Nations Charter of Human Rights, a free press is upheld as a basic human right.

It is perhaps self-evident as to why such importance is given to journalists. In a democratic society, we need to be able to access the truth about events and activities that occur everyday in order to judge whether these events are legal or illegal, moral or immoral, beneficial or harmful, fair or unfair. If activities are judged to be detrimental in any way, the public needs to be able to raise their collective voice, demanding redress or correction of the wrong, and consequences given to the wrongdoer. In normal circumstances, the public can get redress through established institutions: government, law enforcement, spiritual or academic institutions, or the courts. But if these institutions are part of the wrongdoing, then redress is not possible.

Thus, the need for a free, independent and professional press.

In fiction, recent examples of how an effective, free, independent and professional class of journalists can be useful to cite. Keeping in mind that these are works of fiction, they nevertheless show how the ethics and motives of "good" journalism benefits us all. The trilogy of novels written by the Swedish journalist Steig Larsson ("The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played With Fire", and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest") shows how a team of investigative reporters and motivated outsiders uncover such things as financial corruption and fraud, abuse of police power, improper governmental oversight, and violation of individual human rights. And the 2015 feature film "Spotlight" tells the story of the efforts of investigative journalists to uncover the widespread abuse of children by Catholic priests and the efforts of the Church and others not only to keep the story quiet, but to protect the offending priests.

In these and in real life situations, journalists are working for a common good in society. There are ethical and professional dilemmas faced by journalists in the pursuit of "the story". Often, difficult decisions must be made: judging whether allegations are truthful or malicious, protection of sources, the goal of the story, crossing the line into sensationalism or entertainment, competition with media rivals, the destruction of lives and reputations, all carry a heavy burden.

That is the reason why we depend heavily on the professionalism of "good" journalists. To be a journalist requires special skills and talents: good communication, obviously, but also a tenacity in getting "the story", an ability to filter fact from fiction, and a constant questioning of whether the efforts of the journalist will result in something positive and useful for society, or something less beneficial. All professions face these ethical dilemmas to varying degrees, but it of the utmost priority for journalists.

Recent phenomena have altered the landscape for professional journalists, and, therefore, society as a whole. The first is the advent of the so-called "New Journalism" which began in the late 1960's, and flourished in the 1970's until the current time. The second is the rise of social media, where information is shared world-wide at the speed of light. Both phenomena have their share of positive attributes: both also have concerns and pitfalls.

"New Journalism" is a phrase coined by Tom Wolfe, and practiced by many skilled and much admired writers, such as Hunter S. Tompson, Turman Capote, Norman Mailer and Gay Talese.  It was seen as a revolt against and an improvement upon the traditional style of journalism. In the "New Journalism", objectivity is replaced by a very subjective, often satirical or ironic style. The reporter places himself within the story as a participant, and the story itself is referred to as the "narrative", rather than simple and basic "reportage". "New Journalism" became, in essence, a new genre of writing, but its linear descendant today is the 24 hour news cycle, the advent of talk radio, the rise of CNN-style infotainment news on television and on-line, and the popularity of celebrity journalists. Certainly, "New Journalism", when done well, is interesting and creative. But the slant towards celebrity or infotainment or slick presentation at the expense of hard, thoughtful and insightful reportage does not serve society except to keep us entertained and homogenized.

Social media is an entirely different situation. Certainly the rise of social media preserves the "right to free speech" guaranteed in most democratic societies. But, in the hands of unskilled or thoughtless people or, worse, in the hands of those promoting an agenda, social media can pollute readers' minds, distract people from what is important, and make innuendo and hear-say sound like fact or truth.

In order for us, as a society, to not fall willingly over the cliff of irresponsible citizenship, we must preserve, respect, consult and encourage those who still ply the trade of professional journalism. Why? Because true, ethical and active professional journalism is trained to question and provoke in the name of decent and beneficial things. A journalist who merely "rakes the muck" is often vilified and distrusted, and deservedly so. But a journalist who shakes up the established order for a social good is worth his weight in gold and is often held in high esteem.

There is no real way to "control" or "civilize" journalism. It must exist in all its forms, worts and all. When society attempts to control its journalists, it is sending out a signal to all who have power, wealth or influence that it is now permissible to do whatever they want without conscience or oversight. Thus, we need to let the journalists dig, poke, probe, bother, accuse, and expose.

The responsibility for determining whether we are consuming "good" or "bad" journalism lies with us. We need to be constantly educated on what "good" journalism is. We need to hold our journalists to a high standard that is based not on things like good looks, a popular agenda, flashy style or an over-the-top involvement in local charities in order to appear to be the "good guy". Instead we need to demand that our journalists continue to see themselves as a type of outsider, a part of society but not really a member of it, a bystander rather than a participant. We must demand that our journalists be detached and objective, at least as much as humanly possible. And, most of all, we must demand that our journalists continue to be tenacious, demanding, and fair.

Otherwise, our democracy is doomed.