Jody Calendar is president of Calendar Communications, Inc., in Tinton Falls, N.J. Reach her via e-mail at consultjody@aol.com.
AFTER A THREE-YEAR SLUMP, EDITORS ARE TOUTING HOW LUCKY they are to be the truth tellers and the watchdogs of government.
In a heartening march that is alive in the smallest newsrooms to the largest, the call to arms includes freedom of information priorities, the advancement of a national shield law, a focus on hard news content, protection of journalist’s abroad and new multiplatform action plans that are not only impressive but practical and necessary.
In short, journalists are fighting the good fight and doing it strategically. Editors take seriously surveys that show one-third of the American people think media has too much freedom and that 83 percent of American voters believe the media takes sides.
No one is denying the whirlwind of mergers and gloomy advertising trends, but they are now spending more time on the mission of journalism than the bottom line and how to produce information on multiplatforms, including newspapers.
They are also making a strong case that the financial bleeding must stop in order to protect the republic.
They have put integrity and ethics on the front burner and are focusing on the First Amendment to make clear what the media’s role should be – protecting the public. We’re remembering just why we got into this business in the first place.
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| Ken Paulson at the 2007 ASNE Convention in Washington |
Ken Paulson, USA TODAY editor, presented an inspiring First Amendment program at both the ASNE and Associated Press Managing Editors conventions, which comically started with our childhood heroes from Superman to Lois Lane and Spiderman to Brenda Starr.
His content, however, is serious. His emphasis on the media’s calling and the 45 words of the First Amendment carved in stone on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the soon to be completed Newseum, has struck a chord in the hearts of editors across the country.
His inspirational program symbolizes the renewed spirit of journalists.
Karen Magnuson, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, made an equally impassioned plea to allow newspapers to retain their watchdog role just weeks ago in her final speech as APME president.
Echoing the sentiments of so many ASNE editors, Magnuson warned that “the integrity of our news reports are at stake. We are at a critical juncture. Our industry must work harder to avoid making more newsroom cuts.”
But she made clear, she sees promise.
“I see integrity and the First Amendment. I see innovation and the future,” she stressed.
Indeed these are the themes emerging.
Gene Foreman, one of the most respected editors in the country is writing a college textbook about ethics in journalism, “because there isn’t anything more important.”
Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff, revered journalists, won a Pulitzer Prize for their book, “The Race Beat,” which shows how the truth presented by news stories, editorials and photographs changed the way the American public viewed the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
Almost every journalism school and newsroom in the country has embraced ethics and integrity as a core value that must be focused and celebrated.
The University of Missouri Press has published a book, “What Good is Journalism?” which reinforces the role of the media, and it’s a great read.
Diversity and retention in newsrooms is back as a top priority, proving that institutional memory and differences of opinion are once again respected.
Complicated issues are being tackled and excellence rewarded.
For example, the John B. Oakes Award, a prestigious award for outstanding environmental reporting in newspapers and magazines, administered by Arlene Morgan, associate dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, has seen an unprecedented number of quality entries this year.
The AL DÍA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Al Día newspaper in Philadelphia, just announced the creation of the Felix Varela Annual Award for excellence in Spanish-language journalism with cash awards of $10,000 each to recognize outstanding print and digital work.
And the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation granted $1.6 million to the International Reporting Project to provide fellowships to U.S. editors to improve the media’s coverage of global health and development issues.
Everyone is working toward the same goal – excellence.
As addressed in the last Industry Watch column that appeared in the special online-only issue, dozens of new online efforts are being announced monthly.
Some of the most recent and innovative include: nytimes.com just announced a new blog called “Shifting Careers,” washingtonpost.com just launched a business travel section, the San Francisco Chronicle is testing touch-screen tables in one of the area’s coffee chains and GateHouse Media partnered with Search Initiatives to provide search engines for the content of its daily and weekly newspapers, while Dow Jones & Co.’s MarketWatch.com financial news is going all Facebook.
No one is standing still.
Plus, journalists are getting help in places where they need it most when speaking the truth.
The shield law has made significant progress, being passed in the House on Oct. 16 by a vote of 398-21.
The Inter American Press Association is broadening its campaign against those who kill journalists. Backed by a $2.5 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the IAPA project will target countries where policy and legal changes may increase the prosecution and conviction of those who terrorize and kill journalists, most particularly in Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. IAPA also expects governments to reopen investigations, improve the judicial system and compensate victims’ families.
Eric Newton, vice president of Knight Foundation’s journalism programs, says that if this grants works, for the first time in the Americas, justice will come to a majority of the cases involving the murder of journalists in the Americas.
Journalists are once again on the march.
The energy is palpable; the commitment impressive; the importance immeasurable.
Some naysayers have said newspapers are dead. Perhaps, they need to reconsider.
Journalists are using all platforms to protect those precious 45 words our forefathers were so wise to write. *