Thu
May 17 2012
01:55 pm
Journalism from the rear view mirror: who's watching the road ahead?
By: R. Neal

Josh Stearns: Hindsight Journalism

Some of the blame for the rise in hindsight journalism can be laid at the feet of journalists who have gotten too cozy with the the powerful, or too embedded within the industries they are supposed to be covering. In these cases, the hard questions aren't being asked ahead of time because doing so would risk a journalist’s access or imperil some sense of false objectivity.

In reality though, we should look at the overall culture of newsrooms, not at individual journalists. A key factor in the rise of hindsight journalism is structural, rooted in job cuts and budget cuts. ... It is risky for a newsroom to invest in a story that might go nowhere. There are no page views in the hypothetical. The FCC Information Needs of Communities report touches on how this has "shifted power away from citizens to government and other powerful institutions, which can more often set the news agenda." Instead of breaking news, our newsrooms are too often waiting for news to happen and then trying to explain it.

Or worse, waiting for the perpetrators to issue an easily copied and pasted press release that explains it. Thousands of lonely voices in the dark around the internet aren't going to be of much help either, when the perpetrators also own the front page and the airwaves.

There's a lot of proactive journalism that could be happening but isn't. Corporate special interests and their corrupt government enablers are making social and economic justice, environmental protection and basic fair dealing in business and government quaint notions of the past. Where are the watchdogs to sound the alarm?

(By way of @bobstep)

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R. Neal's picture

Which raises the question,

Submitted by R. Neal on Thu, 2012/05/17 - 2:12pm.

Which raises the question, can we clone Betty Bean?

fischbobber's picture

Seriously?

Submitted by fischbobber on Thu, 2012/05/17 - 10:05pm.

Right around the beginning of Betty's career I considered journalism. I had a friend that started at the Journal right around the time she did. He ended up owning a gas station and continuing his journalism on the side more as a hobby than career. I have a decent resume of awards and published pieces and gigs in both print and radio as well, but, it just doesn't pay.

Over the course of the last thirty years Betty Bean has been Knoxville's most important citizen. Almost every person in this town can repeat a story that touched them that she broke, yet, most don't even know she wrote the story, and I will wager any amount of money I can match that she has never been paid what she's worth as measured by what she can do for sales of papers or value to her community.

If you cloned her, odds are she'd do something else in this day and age and we should just thank God that Knoxville is her home and she chooses to grace us with her talent, because we've never demanded she be given tangible proof that we want her as our voice. I wish we had 50 of her but I'll settle for just supporting our one in a decent manner.

We're not worthy of Betty, but I'm glad she's no quitter.

Bbeanster's picture

Lord have mercy, ya'll. I do

Submitted by Bbeanster on Thu, 2012/05/17 - 10:16pm.

Lord have mercy, ya'll. I do not know this saint of whom you speak, although I am starting to look a bit like Mother Teresa.
Cynthia Moxley warned me years ago about what happens to old reporters. We end up with about 15 dogs and we smell like chihuahuas.

50 cents wasted's picture

That compromise is on full display at the KNS

Submitted by 50 cents wasted (not verified) on Thu, 2012/05/17 - 3:08pm.

As the leadership over there wants to be accepted into the social and business circles of a klannish little town like Knoxville, rest assured they look the other way time and time again.

A number of perceived rather successful businesses in Knoxville have truly struggled to the point of near collapse during these tumultuous economic times, with many have been cut off by the traditional lenders. No indepth reporting on these businesses or the ongoing struggles of Edwards and his traveling circus to recruit and relocate business and industry to Knoxville and Knox County. Just more of the same, looking the other way hoping that these businesses will advertise in their daily rag.

There is more journalistic ethic and effort in BBean and the staff at the Shopper that all of the Scripps newpaper chain combined. The folks at the KNS keep pulling on the rains of the younger reporters and they continue to flail away without any credible sources, insiders, or other harder to get information other than what is spewed from the spokespersons who are paid by the public to provide "information"?

Journalistic integrity is based by definition on asking questions which are probing, insightful, difficult and challenging to the recipient. Mike Wallace, Woodward and Berstein, and most award winning journalist didn't get there by who they know, they got there by asking questions on topics that were not readily knowable to their readers and their audience.

alan swartz's picture

change the name to reflect what they do

Submitted by alan swartz on Thu, 2012/05/17 - 4:28pm.

The first thing people should do after canceling their subscription is refer to the daily paper as what it is.

The antonym of Sentinel is Assailant.

The Knoxville News Assailant.

Call it what it is.

Tamara Shepherd's picture

*

Submitted by Tamara Shepherd on Sat, 2012/05/19 - 7:56am.

All I know is that a succession of KNS education reporters has covered issues while seated on the dais with the local school board, from a perch just to the right of Russ Oaks’ elbow.

Well, I’m starting to know more than that, but only after the fact…

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