Blog Post #5 - JRN 340

The Nieman Reports article dives into the topic of the line between journalism and activism. Immediately the author discusses how the co-editor in chief of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Rebecca Schneid considers “journalism as a form of activism,” and how this statement started the ball rolling for all those who agree and or disagree.

When asked on a talkshow if Schneid saw a difference right now between journalism and activism, she responded with “I think that the purpose of journalism is to raise the voices of people who maybe don’t have a voice. And so I think that in its own right, journalism is a form of activism.”

For me personally, I have to agree to an extent with Schenid’s comment regarding how activism lies within journalism. I specifically believe that any good form of journalism or any good journalist is an activist for the truth and is seeking to bring rightful change to where it’s due. I think it also has to do with a matter of fact that journalists are human.

We all see the world through our eyes and by our own experiences and that cannot be ignored. And naturally, it is easy to to embed activism into the journalism we cover. Truth seeking is something that every journalist already is, or should, be aiming for.

However, there are people / professional journalists who definitely have some sort of disagreement with this thought. There were many responses to Schenid’s statement, one of them being “Journalism is covering a story and giving us the facts, then allowing us, the reader or viewer, to make up our mind.” Another being “It is the mentality that is killing trust in our profession.”

Opinions like this are suggesting that journalism and every-day journalists should just strictly stick to covering the facts of a story and nothing else, leaving activism, thoughts and interpretations up to those who are viewing and or reading the story. It shouldn’t be up to the journalist to spread this activism and specific views being that they are only one person.

This is where the definite controversy regarding this topic comes into play. It also brings up the conflict, which the article is seen to mention, that there are not two sides to some issues.

The article uses the example LGBTQ rights or white supremacy. There is still an ongoing debate about whether reporters can or should express political views outside the newsroom, being that only one of these opinions about these issues is right.

To me, I personally don’t know if there is a right or wrong answer to this debate. I think it all has to do with those interpreting and formulating own opinions on the matter.