Journalism’s conundrum: Peter Greste explains
Journalism is faced with a dilemma on social, technological and political fronts. Technological aptitudes have become sought after, shifting the ‘value’ from the ‘craft’ to ‘tech-savvy’ skills, says Peter Greste, an Australian-Latvian journalist and recent political prisoner in Egypt.
“We’re sacrificing editorial wisdom for technological skill,” he said.
The ability to research, produce and disseminate news across a multitude of platforms at an alarmingly rapid rate is vital to journalism, but it comes at a price, he said.
As a result, the industry is losing journalists with a deep knowledge of their craft. Greste recalled a former foreign correspondent saying “that his salary could pay for two or three reporters fresh out of college and with much faster thumbs!”
The increased pressure to produce news in a timely and cost-effective manner hinders the conduct of thorough research and presentation of quality news to the public, resulting in what he calls, ‘churnalism’.
“Instead of feeding our democracy on a healthy diet of fruit and vegetables, and the occasional meal of good bread and political meat, we’re filling it with soft drinks and potato crisps,” he said.
With the expectation to produce news with such speed, a journalist does not have the chance to develop a connection with the story.
“The demand for speed has cost us context. Gone is the time to check the facts. Gone is the time to ask a follow up question. Gone is the time to get into the history of the story and weed out some relevant research that could challenge the narrative that we might be getting from a politician.”
“We’ve sacrificed the art of good journalism,” he said.
Smartphones and iPads have cemented their place as key platforms for communicating digital news and have consolidated many roles into the one device.
“Now the digital revolution has collapsed all those jobs into a smartphone,” said Greste.
Journalists are a vital conduit between the power structures of a nation and its people. Abiding by the Journalists’ Code of Ethics it is incumbent upon them to produce and disseminate well-researched, factual and balanced news.
Greste said that when he and his colleagues were reporting in Egypt, they played with a ‘straight bat’, being mindful of not breaking any rules. Having spoken with the Egyptian government they then contacted the Muslim Brotherhood in pursuit of a balanced story. This made them an instant national threat.
“It seems as that act alone made us targets of the government”
“As responsible journalists, you do what you’re supposed to do and you talk to the people of the opposition,” he said.
“It seems as that act alone made us targets of the government,” he said.
Greste said there has always been a power balance between journalism and the government: taking power from one entity inevitably shifts the ‘power slider’ to the other.
“In the current environment, it’s all too easy, too tempting for governments to use the war on terror for the convenient excuse for dragging the slider to the right,” he said.
Greste said he was concerned about this equilibrium of power in Australia. He highlighted the debate between a balance of security versus the freedom of the press.
“In the debate about the balance between security and civil rights here, we run the real risk of losing those things that genuinely helped our society keep stable, safe and truly free.”
We must ask…
How can a successful journalist conduct nutrient-rich, cost-effective research on a story in today’s digital age?
How can accurate news be swiftly dispersed to the public across a multitude of media platforms?
How can a journalist employ freedom of speech, be trusted by the public and respected by the government?
Although we may not have all the answers, Greste is adamant that a solution can be found.
“Somewhere along the line we need to find a way of allowing journalism to flourish with courage, vigour and creativity through its own sake, rather than the news business to be washed along by the technological and political tides.”
