What does a former journalist bring to the table?
When the 2011 Occupy Movement began so, too, did the rise in citizen journalism and a new approach to how news was reported.
Unlike the traditional journalism I was trained to do during years in newsrooms, citizen journalism is almost always first-person, opinion driven coverage of an issue that leaves little room for objective analysis of a topic. Citizen journalism relies heavily upon an individual’s experience of a topic in the moment or in the recent past and leaves out opposing perspectives.
Great examples of citizen journalism can be found on social media platforms, blogs, and personal podcasts that do not feature interviews.
Citizen journalism is not bad journalism. However, citizen journalism is not objective journalism. It is reporting that relies upon the perspective of the narrator and includes their opinions as part of the final product.
In comparison, traditional journalism should be devoid of the opinion of the reporter and include balanced perspectives from all sides of a topic. In modern media, most people consume news via internet platforms and broadcast outlets, making objective news sources more difficult to find. Many broadcast platforms have fallen victim to the 24-hour news cycle and developed editorial bias as a part of their operating procedure.
Editorial bias is when a news outlet “leans” in a particular direction. For example, some viewers would classify Fox News as “leaning” to the political right and CNN to the political left. Both imply an editorial bias that is important to be aware of when choosing an information source and a writer.
When choosing a writer, the goal should be to find someone who can present the topic without a lens of their own “baggage” coloring the information. The use of interviews, research, and experience in presenting information free of the writer’s thoughts are critical in providing the best product possible for every client.
Classically trained journalists with print experience are the ideal candidate for those assignments. Unless asked to write an opinion piece, classically trained journalists are required to maintain a wall between their own thoughts, opinions, and feelings on a topic and those of the people they are writing about. The objectivity of journalists – present and former – allows them to provide a clear exploration of a topic without any unnecessary intrusion of their own bias.