Chapter IV

Development Journalism: What Next?

In the context of development, various theories have been proposed for accelerating the

developmental processes, and the UN suggested the New Millennium Goals for

achieving development in identified areas. In addition to various theories, the role of

media is increasingly recognized as important to expedite the processes of

development. However, the media have their own limitations in taking up

developmental campaigns and some of the problems with regard to newspapers are

discussed earlier. Are these problems peculiar to the Indian newspapers or are they

similar in the advanced countries? Across the globe, problems pertaining to the media

in covering developmental issues are similar, and yet they vary keeping in view the

country and its people. Nonetheless, various studies have found out that newspapers

can influence policy-makers and the government in any nation, and on many occasions

newspapers can play an advocacy role in society. Advocacy, according to Wallack et al

(1993:27), is a catchall word for the set of skills used to create a shift in public opinion

and mobilize the necessary resources and forces to support an issue, policy or

constituency. For instance, Rothman and Lichter (1990) found that the negative

newspaper stories on nuclear energy policy had declined the public and governmental

support to the issue in the United States. In the United Kingdom, Daily Mail in 1988

launched a campaign, ‘Save Our Seals’ to protect seals and sustained it over a year. The

campaign, which was followed up by other newspapers like The Guardian, the

Independent, and others, resulted in strengthening the public concern of the

environmental issues. Anderson (1997) commented:

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 The seal virus, then, was used by the popular press as a peg to focus upon
environmental issues in the broader sense. The seals story marked an issue-
threshold for environmental issues, which were already attracting considerable
concern from the public (p147).

In relation to development, can newspapers practice advocacy journalism? Or

development journalism is part of advocacy journalism? In this perspective, the study

of two press systems- American and Indian - is presented below to draw parallels

between them for understanding the future of journalism in the context of country’s

development. Further, in relation to media theories, the American Press is considered to

be libertarian while the Indian Press is expected to be socially responsible. In either of

the Press systems, the role of the Press is critical in society to relate itself to citizen

engagement in terms of welfare or development.

American Press and Public Journalism

The American media, which evolved over 200 years, have been radically undergoing

changes during different periods. According to Merritt and McCombs (2004:32), these

changes in mass communication over these 200 years were the result of the confluence

of three major factors. They are

 New developments in technology.

 Changes in the underlining social conditions.

 And creative and entrepreneurial impulses.

Because of these reasons, the character and function of each mass communication

channel has undergone a sea-change. The 200-year-old press faces a different future in

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the wake of television, which has a telling effect on the masses. The emergence of new

technology like the satellite television, fiber optics, the wireless television and the

Internet are increasingly influencing the public life in various forms. The television

with its immediacy and the compelling images is bringing the day’s happenings at

one’s doorstep and the news happenings are transmitted in seconds. The face of a

politician or a celebrity or an accused is shown alike on the TV screen and salacious

presentation of men and women on the television screen has become its prime duty.

For want of news visuals, the television manufactures news by giving new definition

and hence a 10-second sound bite is defined as news for television (Hallin, 1992). Katz

(1992) describes news is like hot potatoes for CNN. As the notion goes that the special

magazines are meant for segmented audience, special channels are aimed at special

audiences. Katz (1992:9) again observed the proliferation of channels gave rise to the

idea of specialized channels that would deliver specialized services to particular

segments of the population, rather than compete for the audience as a whole.

With the rise of television to attract the segmented audience, the newspapers have

been marginalized, and the newspapers must partly own the responsibility for the

change. Although technology has widened the growth and the reach of the Press,

newspapers have an inherent weakness of slow disseminators of information.

However, newspapers respond to the needs of the local communities in order to

compete with the cable television. As a result, entertainment, celebrity stories,

recreation, lifestyle, and sports filled up the editorial space (Hoge, 1997). Hicky

(1998) observed that the network news, the cover stories of the news magazines and

the front page of major newspapers witnessed an increase 28 per cent of contents on

celebrity, scandal, gossip, and other human interest stories between 1977 and 1997.

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Despite these contents, newspapers are rapidly losing readership by one-tenth on

weekdays and one percent on Sundays (Woo, 2000). Thus, journalists like Squires

(1991) predict the death of journalism at the end of his book, “… the idea to set up a

museum for the Press”. Though Squires may be pessimistic about the journalism,

Fidler (1997) argues newspapers will not die and they will transform themselves into a

new form. In his argument, each medium undergoes a change, and newspapers will not

be closed, but they appear as on-line newspapers, which according to him is

mediamorphosis. Further, according to him, all media co-evolve and co-exist. In this

co-evolution, how can the newspapers survive? When the loss of readership and

circulation of newspapers is increasingly affecting the Press in America, Squires

(1991:223) has made an apt observation of the print media in America:

The Press traditionally has been a people-oriented, privately

owned, public spirited, politically involved enterprise concerned
primarily with the preservation of democracy. That in itself was
a major reason it survived in basically the same form for 200
years. But the loss of that distinctive character means among
other things that this news medium now has no better chance of
survival than any other business, nor should it have. Under the
new order, it is no longer an institution dedicated to the public
interest, but rather a business run solely in the interest of the
highest possible level of profitability.

Obviously, two issues require attention: One, newspaper organizations are keen on

profits; they process news that is not relevant to the readers; two, the people resent

newspapers, considering them “arrogant, insensitive, biased, inaccurate and

sensational”. These words were used by the public in a national survey conducted in

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America on the role of newspapers (Schaffer, 2001). On this count, the newspapers

are distancing themselves away from their readers.

Alarmed at the growing gap between the newspapers and the readers, concerned

journalists and academicians like Rosen in America asked newspapers to take up

public journalism as an alternative to bridge the gap between the Press and the readers.

Rosen, a professor of law in America who started campaigning for public journalism

after the presidential elections in 1988, charged the Press with irresponsibility in its

coverage of presidential polls. Public journalism, which identifies itself with public

service journalism or advocacy journalism, according to Shepard (1994:28) is to

reconnect citizens with their newspapers, their communities, and the political process,

with newspapers playing a role not unlike that of community organizer. Public

journalism seeks to go beyond covering an event, a meeting or a controversy. It tries

to convey knowledge, not just news developments. It’s about covering consensus as

well as conflict, success stories as well as failures – stories that may help other

communities deal with difficult issues. More specifically, public journalism is goal

oriented. Sparrow (1999: 191-92) recognized three specific components of public

journalism or civic journalism. One is that the journalism engages audiences – be it a

local community, a city, a state or the nation. It does not reflect simply the concerns of

political leaders or other authoritative sources. Second, public journalism is also

problem-centered. It is cognizant of issues that need to be addressed and attempts to

attend to the concerns revealed in community polls, focus groups and even specific

incidents (eg. Custodial deaths, dowry cases etc.). Third, public journalism is a

catalyst for popular action and problem solving. News organizations are in a position

to be an agent for community mobilization and popular engagement.

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In consonance with the concept of public journalism, newspapers have undertaken few

campaigns keeping in view the societal needs. Since newspapers want to identify

themselves with the people, they have taken up these campaigns. Two case studies

illustrate the point.

 In 1999, the Chicago Tribune documented the experiences of scores of men

sentenced to death in Illinois who had been beaten by police into confessing

crimes, had been represented at trial by incompetent attorneys or had been

convicted on questionable evidence. Soon after the newspaper published its

findings, the governor of Illinois suspended all executions (Downie and Kaiser,

2002:3).

 The Philadelphia Inquirer revealed in 1998 that police had manipulated their

crime records to make the city appear safer than it was widely publicized

Federal Bureau Investigation statistics. The police erased some crimes from

their records entirely, and downgraded robberies, burglaries, car break-ins,

stabbings and assaults to minor offences like threats, lost property, vandalism,

hospital cases and disturbances which are not included in the FBI’s accounting

of serious crimes. The Inquirer reported later that Philadelphia police had also

failed to investigate thousands of sexual assault complaints, rejecting many of

them as “unfounded ” and hiding others in file drawers. Official investigations

and reforms of police procedures followed (Downie and Kaiser, 2002:6).

Since newspapers, in spite of problems within, have been supporting the public cause

and advocating changes, public journalism will be playing a vital in citizen’s life.

Eksterowicz and Roberts (2000:186) observed that the movement for public journalism

is expected to play a major role in helping all journalists realize that they have a

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responsibility to work to regain the trust of the readers. Further, newspapers instead of

identifying the problems and presenting negative news, can also report on the positive

side of society. Downie and Kaiser (2002:98) commented: Readers are tired of

newspapers that repeatedly tell them what’s wrong with their community, the country

and the world without explaining how problems might be solved. Some saw public

journalism as an antidote to the outdated journalistic tradition that reporters cover

institutions –city hall, the police department –instead of the concerns of citizens. Others

thought newspapers should actively participate in civic affairs, convening public

forums and inviting citizens to meet with journalists and officials to discuss community

issues and how to address them.

Indian Press and Development Journalism

A movement for development journalism has started in India and newspapers are

increasingly aware of development journalism. Like the American Press, a majority of

Indian newspapers are business-centric and are intensely facing a threat from the

television in terms of advertisement. Despite newspapers making all efforts to grab

advertisements, they are losing to the television. In the year 2004-2005, the Indian

advertisement market registered a business of Rs 9960 crore, and out of the ad pie,

television got the lion’s share of over Rs.4, 000 crore, leaving the Press far behind

(Kohli, 2005).

With 330 dailies in 1952 having a circulation only 2.5 million, the number of

publications went up to over 56000 with over 80 million circulations by the end of

2004. The circulation of all daily newspapers put together showed an increase of over

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12 per cent by the end of 2004. The reasons for this growth are literacy, advancement

of technology and availability of transport. But, the advertisement revenue of all

newspapers is sharply declining. In spite of drop in advertisements, controversies of

public issues, sensationalism and the attractive layouts remain as a focus in the

newspapers.

Do the newspapers try to attract the readers’ attention by according high priority to

these contents? Newspaper organizations argue that these contents are necessitated for

their survival in the market. In the process, they identify themselves as a commercial

enterprise and the newspaper is a commodity, rather a public institution to serve the

society. Although newspapers draw sustenance from profits, total dedication to profits

cannot be the goal of this institution. However, to boost their circulation, newspapers

started reducing cover price. For example, The Hindu, The Indian Express, The

Hindustan Times and The Times of India reduced the cover price to a negligible price

of Rs.1 and Rs.1.50. Though the circulation has gone up, the advertisement revenue is

falling. This has affected big newspapers and raises a critical question; will the Press

survive the crisis? Nevertheless, the increase in circulation may not vouchsafe

readership. Newspapers are not mere commodities to be sold, but they reflect the

essence of a society. Newspapers are a catalyst between the government and the

people. Thereby, can the Press play a watchdog role in monitoring the implementation

of developmental schemes? Can the Press be accountable to the public, which it is

expected to serve?

Development journalism, accountability and news values

In the media discourse, accountability is used to explain a media channel’s functioning

to the higher authority or a group of persons. As the notion of monitoring citizen is

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replacing the informed citizen (Merritt and McCombs, 2004:28), the media therefore,

must understand that the individual in society is scrutinizing its role. In this connection,

the concept of accountability arises and hence the media are expected to make a

concerted effort to be accountable in its duty while covering issues, to gain a citizens’

trust. Pritchard (1991,2000) defined press accountability as a process by which press

organizations may be expected or obliged to render an account to their constituents. A

constituent is an individual, group, or organization whose goodwill is important for any

media organization. More over, a media organization can have many constituents

including audience members, advertisers, news sources, peers in other organizations

and regulatory authorities. Klaidman and Beauchamp (1987), in their classification of

media accountability identified only three types viz., accountability to employers,

accountability to subjects and accountability to sources. However, the fourth

classification can be added to accountability as public accountability (Murthy, 2005:2).

In a democracy, society and mass media are interdependent because society depends on

the mass media for information. Mass media reflect the society in the news contents,

while society presents events to mass media, and therefore they both share a symbiotic

relationship. DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach (1989:303) observe that the media system is

assumed to be an important part of the social fabric of modern society, and it is seen to

have relationships with individuals, groups, organizations, and other social systems.

These relationships may be conflict-ridden, or cooperative; they may be dynamic and

changing or static and orderly. They may range from being direct and powerful to being

indirect or weak. Whatever the particulars of the relationship, it is the relationship that

carries the burden of explanation.

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This relationship further makes mass media being accountable to the public. Because,

in relation to dissemination of news, newspapers have to establish credibility and

respectability among readers in order to get their support. As newspapers require

continuous support from the readers, they are expected to render an account to them. In

the context of accountability, a second party scrutinizes the Press role and hence the

Press is expected to be accountable to it. In the assumption that there is a triangular

relationship between the newspaper organization, journalists and readers; journalists are

expected to be accountable to the readers much more than the organization. Because

newspaper is not like another product to be sold on the basis of package and price, and

quality is crucial. Newspaper quality is judged on the quality of news content. More

over, newspaper never makes an attempt to lose the base of readership. The readers’

needs are fulfilled by the supply of news while being accountable to the public and the

public accountability becomes mandatory for the newspaper. The theoretical view that

social responsibility is an ethical issue for a newspaper while media accountability is

the duty of the Press. But in the media discourse of accountability, while newspapers

being accountable to the readers as well as other constituents of the public, the

newspapers educate the public in a country like India where the majority of the

population is illiterate. In relation to its role as a public educator, newspapers have

certain news values in reporting or selecting an event before being transmitted to the

public. More over, a major part of the 200 years of the Indian Press, it has worked with

a mission to educate the masses on the ills of the foreign rule and therefore it played a

vital role in public education. Thus, the news values, which determine the character of

the newspaper as a public educator, have undergone a radical change after

Independence and news mostly focuses on the issues that fetch advertisements and

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increase circulation. Further, certain news values borrowed from the Western nations

have influenced the Press in the post-Independent India. Murthy (2002) summarizes the

news contents in the mainstream Indian newspapers as follows:

1. The Indian Press is influenced by the Western news values of sensationalism,

sex, scandal, gossip and conflict. The news values of the third world like

development, education, national integration, and social responsibility are

relegated to the backseat.

2. Scoop is the most sensational word in the journalistic profession. Journalists vie

with each other to out beat their professional rivals rather than to consider their

relevance to society.

3. Event reporting is given much importance than process reporting

4. Newspapers dedicate space to flimsy and non-relevant issues

Though these news values are predominantly found in the newspapers, the Press can re-

prioritize its values keeping in view the development of the country. Thus four key

news values emerge such as culture and social capital, integrity, social development

and social accountability to expedite national development.

Culture and social capital. Since the use of the word global village by Marshal

McLuhan in 1964, globalization is increasingly affecting social life. With the free

movement of goods and ideas, globalization in its wake has impacted the world

particularly in the economic and cultural spheres. One perspective of globalization is

that it has positive results for the developed world and the transnational corporations,

as they are able to expand their business ventures. Scholars cite mass tourism,

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migration, McDonaldised consumerism and the spread of popular cultural forms in

music, film and television as an example of globalization’s influence on culture (Casey

et al, 2002; 112). One line of reasoning for this impact is that the Western world or

industrial world’s preoccupation with consumerism, the private accumulation of

material goods, and the unending pursuit of wealth and status. These fixations of

Western industrial societies or modern civilization are seen as important causes of

unsustainable development in which economic progress is aimed at acquisition,

consumption, mass culture, and individual aggrandizement. Modern civilization,

according to Mahatma Gandhi, makes people materialistic and makes them concentrate

their thoughts upon their bodies and upon the means of multiplying bodily comforts

(Narayan, 1989:277). As an alternative to this, culture plays a crucial role in

sustainable development. Further, culture involves knowledge, belief, art, morals, law,

custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by a man as a member of a

society (Tylor, 1977). Although many definitions are given to describe culture, Sitaram

(1970, cited in Rich and Ogawa, 1998) defined culture as a sum total of the learned

behaviours of a group of people, which are generally considered to be the tradition of

that people and are transmitted from generation to generation. Since India is culturally

rich, and has hoary tradition of cultural roots, the Press has a responsibility to accept

culture as a news value. Cultural practices, which include sharing of labour, time with

others and celebrating festivals, community interaction promote social capital. Social

capital refers to the norms and networks that enable people to act collectively

(Woolcock and Narayan, 2000). The basic idea of social capital is that one’s family,

friends, and associates constitute an important asset who can be called upon in a crisis

or a celebration. For example, an adivasi community, Warlis, living in the region of

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north of Bombay shows a typical testimony to the principle of social capital. For the

Warlis, acting together has enabled the community to survive for centuries and they

share their labour without charge whenever required for agriculture, house building or

any activity (Pereira and Seabrook, 1996:51). The New Indian Express report on the

success of Punjabis in Kutch is in terms of social capital stands as a testimony. The

news item with a headline ‘ Punjabis script green story in arid Kutch’ dated July 20,

2004 reported those 200 Sikh families of Punjabis and 50 families from Haryana

settled in Kutch region developed the arid regions. “The signs of Punjabi enterprise

and community work are everywhere. The families have formed trusts, which run

English medium schools and a gurudwara…soon the village will have 10-bed hospital.

In sustainable development, local, social, and cultural values work in support of the

individual, community and society to sustain the planet. Since culture involves the

passage of knowledge from one generation to another, newspapers can frequently

report on cultural roots and norms of the society to preserve them for the future

generations. Therefore, the newspapers in India can attempt to preserve the cultural

values while giving less importance to modes of modern civilization.

Integrity. Indian society suffers from three problems: indolence, indifference and lack

of integrity (Murthy, 2005). These three problems that impair development of the

nation as a whole and also an individual. Dishonesty coupled with corruption is the

root-cause of myriad problems, and the politician and the bureaucrat equally share the

responsibility. Kothari (1993) notes with concern that a significant portion of citizens

do not get enough to eat, do not have a secure roof over their heads or enough clothes

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to cover bodies. Men, women, and children toil from morning to night …India’s

poverty is, therefore, not a poverty of resources. It is a poverty of justice. Stories in the

Indian Press appear on dishonesty of politicians and bureaucrats. For instance,

Sainath’s stories (1996) on poverty adequately reflect the dishonesty of politicians and

bureaucrats in siphoning off the money meant for development. For instance:

In August 1995, Prime minister P V Narasimha Rao inaugurated an anti-

drought project in Orissa. This one will involve spending Rs 4,557 crores in six

years (over Rs 750 crores a year) on just a few districts including Kalahandi,

Bolangir, and Koraput. Every paisa of that huge sum would be worth spending

if it actually fought scarcity and built better infrastructure…In theory, drought-

prone blocks come under a central scheme known as Drought-Prone Areas

Programme (DPAP). But bringing blocks into DPAP is now a purely political

decision. The central allocation for DPAP, a phalanx of other schemes then get

money coming in under the employment assurance scheme (EAS), anti-

desertification projects, drinking water missions and a host of other schemes.

Well, some people do benefit (p 317-318).

Thus, the Press can report stories on corruption and educate the masses as well as the

politicians on the need for integrity and honesty. The number of news stories can be

increased and the Press ‘s agenda can be highlighting these issues. Integrity as a news

value at the personal and professional level must be promoted.

Social accountability. Social accountability is increasingly the phenomenon of the new

century and the concept occupies all spheres of the society. Press is no exception to this

phenomenon and therefore the Press can set objectives to be fulfilled for the welfare

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of society. Since the Press exists to serve the society, the future of social accountability

depends on the quality of the Press’s response to the changing expectations of its social

milieu. Hence, the Press can have the following objectives to be socially accountable.

a) The Press is responsible to community at large;

b) Press’s accountability to readers in respect of news that is worthy of reading

(non-relevant news coverage can be reduced)

c) Press’s responsibility to protect the interests of the readers. For example, Indian

Express’s report on 142 infant deaths in June 2004 in Delhi’s Safdarjung

Hospital led to a probe and filing of a public interest litigation in the Supreme

Court. Later the hospital, which denied deaths initially, admitted 142 children

died in one month alone (Indian Express, July 9, 2004).

When newspapers argue that the space is a constraint in newspaper columns, how can

newspapers publish splashy photographs on the front page? Newspapers instead of

publishing splashy photographs by allocating much space can reallocate that space to

development-related issues. The principal function of the Press is to provide a

satisfactory service to its readers and the general assumption is that the service should

be responsible to public wants and needs. Although Indian constitution guarantees

freedom of speech inter alia freedom of the Press, reasonable restrictions under article

19 (2) are imposed on this freedom of the Press. These restrictions indirectly hint at the

responsibility of the Press. However, social responsibility of the Press is an ethical

issue in the sense that it is self-imposed. But, much more than this ethical dimension,

social accountability is the duty of the Press.

Social development India is in a process of development and the progress of the nation

depends on the society as a whole. Midgley (1995) defined social development as a

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process of planned social change designed to promote the well being of the population

as a whole in conjunction with a dynamic process of economic development. Thus,

social development is a process and it happens over a period of time. Majority of the

Indian population suffer from lack of development. For example, one out of every

three persons in the world lacking safe and drinking water is an Indian…Every third

leprosy patient in the globe is an Indian. So every fourth being in the planet dying of

water-borne or water-related diseases. Over the three-fourths of all the tuberculosis

cases that exist at any time worldwide are in this country…tens of millions of Indians

suffer from malnutrition. Therefore, the chief reason for this problem is lack of

facilities ( Sainath, 1996:435). Thus, the Press is expected to highlight problems

related to providing facilities and focus on the failure of the government to provide the

basic necessities to the people and compel the elected representatives to act on the

welfare measures to be taken for the benefit of the people. Further, the Press can focus

on developmental processes involving different sectors of social development such as

health, transport, education, literacy etc.

With these news values in view, when the Press plays a key role in development, by

making experiments as was done earlier in Project Chattera, Udayavani experiment

and Eenadu-type of journalism. A continuous reinforcement of these development

issues quickens the process of development. Nevertheless, can the Indian Press set an

agenda to itself in the new millennium? The Press can have its agenda in supporting the

developmental issues, which have been promoted at the global level by the United

Nations. In a report to the Millennium Conference, secretary-general Kofi Annan

(2000) identified some of the challenges facing the humanity at large at the start of the

21st century:

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  Reducing the extreme poverty faced by 1.2 billion people who live on less than

$ 1 per day

 Improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020

 Ensuring that all children complete primary education

 Reducing HIV/AIDS infection in young people by 25% by 2010

 Preserving forests, fisheries, and biodiversity

 Reducing the threat of global warming by reducing by 60% emissions of carbon

and other greenhouse gases

 Confronting the water crisis

 Defending the soil

 Preventing conflict

Conclusion

The American movement for public journalism and the Indian experiments of

development journalism aim at connecting the newspapers with their readers to make

them more relevant to the society. The emphasis in newspapers is changing from

transportation of information to the processing of information. The earlier practice of

journalism is transporting of information from one end to the other. For example, the

reporter covers a press conference or a public speech. It implies that this one-source

story, containing information is transmitted to the other end i.e., the readers (Jurgensen

and Meyer, 1992:267) and in this one-source story, the summary lead 1 (Five Ws and

one H) developed during the mid-nineteenth century is relevant. But, in the public

journalism or development journalism, five Ws and one H are less relevant.

Journalists must look for multiple-source stories and the reporter must process them

before it is transported to the desk. Thus, the processing of news is equally important

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along with gathering of news. In development journalism or public journalism, issues

and people’s concerns are priority of journalists; the newspapers must re-orient

themselves to gain people’s confidence. Therefore, newspapers have a two-step

function: First, newspapers select certain events related to development to attract the

attention of the policy-makers and set an agenda for public action; second, newspapers

also frame2 these issues, telling the readers what is important to know.

In the light of these functions, the emphasis must shift from market-driven journalism

to people-centric journalism. The future of journalism lies in its closeness with the

readers and hence, emerges a model of journalism where the news gatherer is the

compiler and gatekeeper of the news. In this people-centric journalism, multiple

sources of a story compel the news gatherer to device suitable methods of reporting

instead of summary lead. Instead of a news report, it can be an interpretative report.

Therefore, the doctrine of objectivity has no place in this journalism. The journalist

records his observations keeping in view the relevance of his stories to the society.

Hence, he is a judge in this journalism and has a prime place to shoulder a responsible

task with a mission. This shift in journalism in future will make the newspapers

relevant to the society to stand as a public institute, which strives for the welfare of the

society. And in this process, the newspapers will engage the public of their primary

needs. The amount and nature of citizen engagement in public affairs or developmental

issues is crucial to journalism for at least three reasons. They are, according to, Merritt

and McCombs (2004: 30) are:

 If people are not engaged in public life, they have no need of journalists who

write about them. Our claim on usefulness and relevance (of newspapers) is

directly in proportion to that level of engagement.

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  If people are still engaged in public life but in ways quite different from the

informed citizen model, we need to know how to do journalism in ways that are

relevant to them, that is, ways that meet their needs as they actually exist and

not as we choose to define them.

 And, most broadly, all journalists have a stake in the condition of citizenship

because we have a stake, both personal and professional, in the condition of

democracy. If we cannot figure out how to play an effective role in the

interrelated dynamic of journalism and democracy, neither will flourish.

Notes

1. News as commodity received an impetus in the mid-nineteenth century on account of

market economics. Before the American civil war, news reporting was characterized
by “florid description” and “subjective comment”. Correspondents often mixed their
own views, judgments, and personal feelings with the facts of the report (Meyer,
1993:20). This highly stylized form of journalism was popular, with the advent of
telegraphs and the demands for quick reports of the war, it became too costly. In order
to shorten the story (to save on telegraph costs, which were charged by the word), a
new style of news writing was developed for war correspondents. This was summary
lead/body style, which is so familiar today. In the story’s lead, journalists were
instructed to state the “five Ws” (who, what, when, where, and why). Then in the
body, each of these aspects of the story could be elaborated. Opinions, judgments, and
personal reactions to the war were to be confined to the last few paragraphs. If the
opinions were too long, editors could start at the bottom and cut out paragraphs, they
moved up toward the lead. Editors came to prefer the lead/body format because it
seemed to produce more economy and clarity in news stories. This style, begun in the
United States in 1860s came to “set pattern for the Press of other countries”
(Desmond, 1980: 217). This style was disseminated via Reuters to the rest of the
world.

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2. In the news selection process, what is left in and what is left out is called framing.
Framing is the process by which someone packages a group of facts to create a story.
When a photographer or a painter composes a picture, some things are left out of the
frame because they contribute to the composition and other things are left out because
they are seen as unimportant or distracting. The same is true of a journalist. The
decision about what is important and what is not important to a story is based on
professional training and personal experience. The meaning of facts is shaped by the
context in which they are experienced (Wallack, 1993:68)

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132