A Much Needed Shift
It can be of no surprise to you (you, I’m assuming, being a fellow journalist or media professional) when the average person mentions how they don’t ‘trust’ the media or journalists. Hoards of people have simply lost all respect for it. While we can blame the current US President and his ranting and raving about ‘fake news’ and his often very public disregard for anything that doesn’t praise him — this issue has been around for a lot longer.
Journalists, at our core, are watchdogs. We are the ones society come to when they need a platform to speak or to hear about what’s going on in the world. This relationship has changed drastically over the past few years as the importance of community relationships and engagement has become less and less important to media professionals. We often see stories being told the way we think they should be told, and not very often coming straight from the community themselves. And with taking all of that into consideration: How could you trust someone that isn’t interested in actually listening to you?
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My class was lucky enough to listen to Mike Rispoli speak this week. During his presentation, Mike mentioned something that I think many journalists have seem to have taken for granted — “Communities invest in journalism when journalism invests in communities”. In other words, “I will help and be open to you, if you are helpful and open to me”. Makes sense, right? Maybe not.
I’m not sure if it’s the growth of social media and the often introspective nature it leads users to, but journalism doesn’t feel like it’s there to serve anymore. Don’t get me wrong, there are some incredible long form, solution journalism type folk — but not nearly enough.
Many times journalism is seen as ‘parachuting’ or acting as a ‘white saviour’ because we simply are not there to actually LISTEN. We get in and get out and let the world see what ever we think the world wants to or should see. How could the public *not* trust us?
This program (yes, there are many similar programs but we’re highlighting and celebrating this one!) sets out to do just that. While it’s very early days, we’re making our way. Our work with The City and their Open Newsroom program is a fantastic example. We’ve been set out into certain neighbours with no intention other than to listen to what the inhabitants are saying. That’s it. We’ve started to attend Community meetings, simply to listen. This course truly feels like a breath of fresh air, and one simply knows that the revolution is upon us.
