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"Everybody knows
journalism is in crisis"Dr Stephen Harrington
Why does journalism matter?
• Because it is "not just another business"
• It is not just another type of media content
• Central part of the public sphere
• Fundamental for a healthy democracy:
• “[News’] claimed objectivity and independence from political or government agencies is argued to be essential for the workings of a democracy.” (Fiske, 1989: 281)
• Journalism is “a job that is crucial to society” (Cunningham, 2003: 31)
So, what's the problem, then?
"Overall, newspaper circulation has dropped 13.5% for the dailies
and 17.3% for the Sunday editions since 2001; almost 5% just in
2008. In what some are calling the Great Recession, advertising
revenue is down—23% over the last two years—even as paper
costs are up. Nearly one out of every five journalists working for
newspapers in 2001 is now gone. Foreign bureaus have been
shuttered—all those of the Boston Globe, for example, New
England’s major paper. I recently met the Chicago Tribune’s South
Asia correspondent, responsible for India, Pakistan, and
Afghanistan, with five years of experience there. Having been
recalled to work on the Metro desk in Chicago, she resigned." (Todd
Gitlin, 2009)
So, what's the problem, then?
So, what's the problem, then?
Hang on a second...
Is this really a crisis or 'decline'?
Or, is this merely a change?
Crisis? Or change?
•'I’m sure there was a time when they were
saying, “you know, only half the people get
their news from town criers that used to”E'
– Jon Stewart (cited in Schlosser, 2003: 28)
Hang on a second...
If journalism really is in 'crisis',
how would we know?
The Four Criteria
1. Number of Outlets
2. Diversity of Outlets
3. Critical interrogation of other
'Estates'
4. Connection with Audiences
• 1. Number of Outlets
If the profession is healthy, we should see
more journalism being produced
If the profession is unhealthy, we should see
less of it being produced
1. Number of Outlets
Question:
In 1965, how many hours of news
programming would air on CBS (US TV
channel) each day?
Answer:
.25
1. Number of Outlets
Question:
In 2012, how many hours of news
programming are on the ABC TV (Aust.
channel) each day?
Answer:
30???
The Four Criteria
• 1. Number of Outlets
2. Diversity of Outlets
3. Critical interrogation of other
'Estates'
4. Connection with Audiences
2. Diversity of Outlets
Diversity is important, because if there's lots of
journalism being produced, but it's all saying
the same thing, there's no point in having a lot
of it.
Comes back to a question of how we define
'journalism' in the first place...
The Four Criteria
• 1. Number of Outlets
2. Diversity of Outlets
3. Critical interrogation of other
'Estates'
4. Connection with Audiences
3. Critical interrogation of other
'Estates'
�The primary function of journalism
�Here’s where we have debate...
�Do we have adequate information
about/interrogation of powerful people?
� Has the quantity/diversity of news helped?
The Four Criteria
• 1. Number of Outlets
2. Diversity of Outlets
3. Critical interrogation of other
'Estates'
4. Connection with Audiences
4. Connection with Audiences
� The “measure of journalists’ success is
their relationship with their audience”
(Windschuttle, 1998: 41)
� Are audiences engaging with news output?
� Declining readership/viewership
The Four Criteria
• 1. Number of Outlets
2. Diversity of Outlets
3. Critical interrogation of other
'Estates'
4. Connection with Audiences
The Four Criteria
