 I believe strongly in a journalism that embraces our capacity for thought. The very antithesis of sensationalism, relentlessly thrust upon us, continuously pushing us farther away from our own minds, reducing thought to little more than a sad, endless distraction. As though the name of the game were to entertain at all costs—which is, after all, where the money is—and to think as little as possible. The unfortunate conclusion is that thinking is too demanding, while entertaining is far more profitable.
And perhaps therein lies the most urgent responsibility for the media as the 21st century dawns: to re establish the freedom and means to think about the world, even when that requires effort, rather than give in to the temptation of info shows, take the easy road, spread gossip, which may be an outright lie, or fall for the cult of personality. We must do away with such one track thinking and offer up new ways of seeing the world. That is what it means to be a journalist. And that is why I have the utmost respect for your profession.
Because to my mind, journalism does not consist merely in reporting the news to the public; it also gives the public a better understanding of a world that is becoming increasingly complex with each passing day and may at times seem incomprehensible, with no reference points, no ideas, and no analyses. To truly inform others is to refuse to allow the news to become a product, a commodity, a profit; it means making the news a tool to explore the world around us, to discover it, to understand it. We are more susceptible to powerlessness and fatalism when we do not understand.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not naïve, and the experience I gained from journalism in news rooms taught me this, sometimes the hard way. I know that things are not always easy. Of all the difficulties facing the media these days, I find three to be particularly troubling. And I could not hope for better company than you in which to touch on these issues.
Let us begin by considering the market driven logic bearing down like a tidal wave on news organizations. Of course, these businesses must ensure their financial viability and turn a profit to keep pace with supply and demand. But the danger comes when selling copy at all costs or getting better ratings becomes their only rationale.
To this I would add when sensationalism takes the place of professionalism. When readership becomes the measure of success over the substance of the information reported. When ratings, circulation and ad revenues alone determine the standards of conduct. When, in the absolute worst case scenario, misinformation passes for truth and becomes fact.
And yet I am absolutely convinced that what is most unique and, if you will pardon the expression, most noble about journalism is that it has an inherent duty to remember, contextualize and understand. But as soon as profitability gains the upper hand over accuracy, entertainment triumphs over reason, lies over truth, and the very ethics of information are at risk, threatened. One cannot practise this profession with integrity without accepting this responsibility.
Or, at the very least, without weighing the consequences when encouraged to work faster, take the easy road, or follow others blindly. Let’s not kid ourselves—it is easier, and certainly more profitable, to simply latch on to a rumour rather than dig beneath the surface. Resisting this temptation requires almost constant vigilance that honours the profession and all those who practise it.
And now more than ever, journalists must move away from the contemptuous attitude that only a happy few are actually interested in thinking, that in-depth reporting doesn’t sell, that people just don’t want to have to think.
This independence of thought, so hard won, too often just a dream in many of the world’s hot spots, is still so very fragile, even in our most evolved democracies. It is begging for the commitment of journalists and press agencies so that it can in turn give rise to civic engagement.
The second threat is the one track thinking emerging from the concentration of media and the race to secure a slice of the market pie. Not only is local news falling between the cracks, much to the public’s chagrin, but the long-term consequences of seeing things in the same way, of reporting the world in the same voice, are also hampering the free flow of ideas and preventing the diversity of content.
The result is media space that is one sided, monotonous, lifeless. We must stem this terrible tide before our knights errant find themselves tilting at windmills.
As members of the press, you must be thinking the same thing, wondering how you can protect and stimulate the richness of civic thought if you are asked to repeat the same news, the same point of view, even the same rumour, often in the same way, from one media to the next. Why condemn yourselves to repetition? To expect nothing more is to accept that there is no other possible vision.
We all know the extremes of one track thinking. We have seen the brutal results under totalitarian regimes over the past century.
How can a journalist search for meaning, take us to the very depths of this world, tell the stories that need to be told, if there is nowhere where he or she is free to think? This is a serious question, one that I am sure many of you have asked yourselves, and one that has much to do with the democratic health of our societies.
We live in a complex world, where the press and the media can serve as both a mirror and a magnifying glass. If they do little more than reflect the same frozen image, if they do not teach us to really see the world around us, they will become less and less relevant to us. Little more than funhouse mirrors. It is up to you to make information a vehicle for free thought, and it is up to us to use it to participate more fully in our societies.
Finally, let us consider the danger of simplification and the time you need—which you are often denied—to avoid it. I said recently to a group of journalists gathered in Montreal to celebrate World Press Freedom Day that under this steady stream of news washing over us, sweeping us along, the complexity of life can begin to erode.
Yet it falls to journalists to help us to better grasp this complexity, which is never black or white—how can it be? It falls to journalists to lead us back when we have lost our way. It falls to journalists to guide us as we try to understand the world. It falls to journalists to stand firm and to make their workspace a place of resistance.
Make no mistake: to uphold this responsibility fully, with insight and awareness, you must refuse to be hurried.
I’ll say it again: such contemplation takes time, something you are often denied when profitability and speed drive this business and the news cycle churns out information twenty-four hours a day. What a tragedy!
The entire profession is suffering because of it, as are our fellow citizens, who can no longer see the possibilities that give meaning to the deafening roar of news, which has become little more than sound bites and background noise.
I urge you not to give in to the demands of machines that produce and market information. It is the shades of meaning that make life so rich, so intense, so precious. We may find life so bewildering because we no longer stop to think about it, really think about it.
Visit http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4769 to read the full speech. |
