Now More Than Ever We Need Public Interest Journalism
The essential work of journalism — to hold power to account and disseminate the truth — received another devastating blow in Istanbul on 2nd October.
The death of Jamal Khashoggi has, once again, brought the issue of public interest journalism into the media spotlight.
As leaders from around the world continue to condemn Saudi Arabia for the barbaric torture, murder and dismemberment of the renowned dissident journalist, the limitations imposed upon one’s freedom of expression are laid bare for all to see.
As Turkish authorities search Belgrad Forest for the scattered remains of Jamal Khashoggi, following what Saudi forces now describe as a brawl to bring the advocate for reform back to their kingdom for interrogation, journalism must look within itself and rally behind a uniformed concept of the public interest.
What is public interest journalism?
Amongst practitioners, ‘investigative’, ‘quality’ and ‘accountability’ reporting are widely considered journalism that is in the public interest.
The lack of high-quality, public interest journalism in the media worldwide has led to the formation of numerous independent organisations who deal exclusively in exposing corruption and challenging power.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, an independent and not-for-profit organisation, performs robust, in-depth investigations into hitherto unknown issues affecting society.
A recent example of their work, in collaboration with The Guardian, exposed the excessive use of human antibiotics on US livestock farms.
Established in a similar mould, amaBhungane, formed in 2010, is an independent, non-profit newsroom based in South Africa.
The work of this small team of investigators to expose wrongdoing and hold power to account through exposés, such as an investigation into sexual harassment claims made against the general secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions, Zwelinzima Vavi, significantly contributed to the political and corporate changes that brought about the resignation of South Africa’s president in February 2018.
The Constructive Institute has been established at Aarhus University in Denmark to combat the degrading quality of journalism, namely the sensationalising of uninformative content prolific in today’s media.
Unlike The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and amaBhungane, The Constructive Institute has adopted an academic, structuralist approach, generating new journalistic concepts and experimental formats to share with newsrooms worldwide.
Government intervention
Anxiety over the lack of quantity, quality and investment made into public interest journalism is no longer limited to journalists and media academics in the field but is becoming an issue of increasing concern to democratic governments worldwide.
In May 2017, the Parliament of Australia established the Public Interest Journalism Committee to inquire into the future of public interest journalism, calling for individuals and organisations to send in their opinions and proposals.
On 5th February 2018, the committee published its final report, which can be found here.
Amongst the findings, in section 1.12 of the report, is a submission by Professor Bill Birnbauer, who argues that while definitions of investigative and public interest journalism vary, there is a consensus amongst journalists and media academics that this form of journalism provides ‘new information on issues of public importance that governments, companies and powerful interests may want to keep secret’.
In June 2018, the UK government set up the Cairncross review to examine the sustainability of high-quality journalism.
As part of the review’s mandate, the government is seeking to highlight the issues faced by local and regional press in holding public service providers to account.
In the current climate of ‘fake news’, click bait and hacking scandals, the public’s trust in the media is at an all-time low.
According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2018 which surveys more than 33,000 respondents across 28 countries, 32% of the UK general population trust the media, whilst one in five avoid the news altogether.
To access the full set of UK results, click here.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum’s (WEF) condemnation of the arrest of three journalists in Myanmar for their investigative reporting into land and construction deals by public officials underlines the general acceptance within the industry that public interest journalism is central to the functioning of a secure and accountable democratic system.
In its condemnation, the article argues that rather ‘than punishing investigative reporting that is designed to safeguard the public interest, officials in Myanmar should acknowledge the role of independent media as a necessary support to democratic institutions.’
Conclusion
Miles Goslett, the freelance writer who broke the Jimmy Saville child abuse story in February 2012, was rejected by seven national newspapers before being published in The Oldie magazine.
Goslett later wrote in The Spectator that one senior executive declined to run the story as his editor was due to appear in the Leveson inquiry and the paper wanted to appear to be behaving ‘responsibly’.
The decision to snub the BBC’s cover-up on the grounds that the timing of the piece was not convenient epitomises the identity crisis faced by the modern media.
Quality, meaningful and impactful public interest journalism is no longer top of the agenda for many news organisations.
Whilst government intervention, such as the Cairncross Review and Public Interest Journalism Committee, is a step in the right direction, it is ultimately down to the industry to decide who it wants to be.
To succeed in building a free and democratic media in the digital age, journalists must abide by the principles of ethical journalism, while remaining unhindered by the pressure to sensationalise and trivialise content.
