Activist Journalism Panel

How are Activists taking up the role of Journalists?

Emma Spencer

Key Points

1.      Advocacy journalism is ever present in the current news sphere.

2.      Activist journalism and how they are giving a voice to marginalized groups

The Emergence of Activism in Journalism

-Robert Jensen defines activist journalism as “… the use of journalism techniques to promote a specific political or social cause,” (Media Shift)

-NPR’s Code Switch blog and The New York Time’s new race and ethnicity beat, demonstrating the way in which we are beginning to see activism in some of the biggest news producers. (Columbia Journalism Review)

-“I don't believe objectivity really exists. It's kind of a unicorn, it's a nice idea… But even as we are worshipping at this altar of objectivity or neutrality, there's some issues where, as journalists, we simply cannot be neutral, cannot be objective and should not try to be” Dan Gillmor Gaurdian Columnist says. Showing that even members of the journalism community are seeing the benefits and logic of activism within the field. (Journalism.co)

- Journalist Matt Taibbi wrote “…advocacy can be hidden, as it is in the monotone narration of a news anchor for a big network like CBS or NBC (where the biases of advertisers and corporate backers like GE are disguised in a thousand subtle ways), or it can be out in the open …” highlighting that although activism may not always be “in your face” it is always there. (MediaShift)

Disability and Activist Journalism

-Activist journalism is particularly useful for members of marginalized groups, to better explain and show their voices and points of view, in this case individuals with disabilities. (MediaShift)

-An example of this is seen in Australia in which people with disabilities have launches a crowdfunding campaign to replace the website RampUp a website featuring news, discussion, debate and humor for everyone in Australia’s disability communities that has been cut due to funding reasons. (Media Shift)

-Driving this cause is Dr. Grorge Taleporos and advocacy journalist. He said “among a growing group of people frustrated by mainstream representation of minority groups and their issues. The once silenced “media critics” have found a space to be heard and to operate beyond traditional media frames of diversity.” (MediaShift)

-The media still doesn’t represent this group of people in the ways in which they would like, therefore the use of activist journalism is helping them to become more prevalent as well as create a landscape in which they are better represented and understood.

Discussion Questions

1.      Besides giving a voice to marginalized groups, how else is activist journalism a positive in the current media landscape?

2.      What do you think are the biggest hurdles activist journalists will have to overcome while becoming a more integral part of this field?

References

Ip, Chris. (2014). Ta-Nehisi Coates Deines a New Race Beat. Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved from http://www.cjr.org/feature/ta-nehisi_coates_defines_a_new.php

Burns, Shawn. (2014). ‘Advocacy’ is not a Dirty Word in Journalism. Media Shift. Retrieved from http://mediashift.org/2014/10/advocacy-is-not-a-dirty-word-in-journalism/

Albeanu, Catalina. (2015). When Should Journalists take on the Role of Activists?. Journalism.co. Retrieved from https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/when-journalists-should-take-on-the-role-of-activists/s2/a565544/