News Neutrality and News Integrity — Societies need for impartial and truthful information
Jason Brown founder of “Journalism in Crisis”, campaigns for a robust funding model for journalism that ensures that there is always “News Neutrality”. Neutrality requires neutral access to information and funding. i.e. Journalists that are free from external coercion or manipulation.
We have plenty of examples, where the absence of this resource has helped create and perpetuate greater crisis. The financial crisis, and several wars, could have possibly been averted by timely, strong and independent journalism. He argues for the following solution:
- Global aid could be a source of funding, using the 0.7% formula to suggest 0.7% of global aid be spent on supporting independent global journalism. At global aid targets around US$200 billion, this would form a fighting fund of some US$140 million
As a concerned citizen, who has experienced the fallout from poor sensationalist journalism, I believe that in addition to impartial journalism, we need a high level of truth in stories that affect our decisions day to day. We need, “News Integrity” as well as “News Neutrality”.
News Integrity is as important as News Neutrality
News Neutrality requires a corresponding Quality Control Framework that ensures “News Integrity”. As a citizen who relies on news for my day to day decision making, I am hampered by my inability to asses the integrity of journalism. Therefore I would argue that News Integrity needs to be applied at individual journalist and news article level, broadcast medium, and organisation level. It requires some codification in law. Following is a starting point for further elaboration, by others.
- Transparency: The open declaration of political, lobby, corporate, national affiliations, formal or informal is required. Journalists who are not independent would take on an indicative title like, “affiliate journalist”.
- Independence: Although affiliated journalists are inevitable. Truly independent journalism needs to be strongest. E.g. 70% independent in any organisation.
- Evidence based: Evidence must be verifiable by readers, uploaded to a repository, that can be checked.
- A-political Categories: Certain realms of journalism, like science, technology, medicine etc. must be independent and penalties applied if affiliations are proven. This would not prohibit, affiliate journalists from comment or debate. However they would be required to be clear and declare in a highly visible format on each article that they were not impartial.
- Political Categories: Journalists writing about political subjects, would be required to show a greater level of transparency, they would clearly mark evidence from opinion and be required to upload evidence to a repository which can be viewed by readers.
- Financial Independence: Funders can be prosecuted for interfering with the content of news or the placement of journalists. The readers and journalists should be protected from coercion or manipulation in law; they would be able to receive compensation if this rule is broken.
- Mixed portfolio of funding be established: Several avenues of funding be the default for journalists, including citizen/reader funding, corporate funding, government funding, international funding, journalistic body funding, industry body funding, watchdog NGO funding. Or as it was suggested above, a part of development aid is given for journalism. Whoever provides funding, they have no protection in law, to influence or control of content of the end product. Pulling funding, for unfavourable news pieces, would be seen as an offence incurring a penalty which is paid directly to a independent journalism fund.
- Scale Integrity: In the current model of news journalism, frequently, stories need to be sensationalist to get coverage. Therefore there is little understanding of the real scale and impact area of a story. Not an issue when the story is about Britney Spears’ knickers, however a big issue, if the story is about, threat that could create fear and a corresponding social impact. E.g. The impact area relative to the population must be clear.
- Spoof or Tabloid: Spoof or Tabloid journalism would be able to employ creativity with facts; however readers would be reminded clearly that the content is not news. Journalists would be titled something like, “creative journalists”.
- Journalists: A balance of powers approach response in law needs to be created. On the one hand journalists caught spying are struck off and named. On the other hand, support is given to journalists, including an individual struck off, to prosecute any agency that attempts to bribe, coerce or employ a journalist as a spy. The ultimate burden should fall on the hiring agency.
All feedback will be welcome
