By Jennifer Reynolds
Editor in Chief, Georgia Entertainment
Journalism was once held to higher standards. In some newsrooms, a journalist needed three independent sources before editors would even read a story. Editors, plural. Each story went through rigorous testing for truth and accuracy.
Now, a screenshot from an anonymous Twitter account passes for journalism. Articles go live without a single editor copyediting them, let alone ensuring that the piece is honest.
What was once normal rigor in the world’s top newsrooms is hard to maintain today. When television news went 24/7 and online publishing exploded, an oversaturation of media led to budget cuts. The result: fewer people doing more work and a rush to publish before competitors scoop you.
The harsh reality is that clicks count more than truth.
Dwell on that for a moment if you can stomach it.
Now, it’s up to individual journalists to raise the bar. Their integrity should be paramount, but too many are interested in making a name for themselves, and in a cutthroat and extremely challenging profession that can lead to dirty tactics.
The media is no longer fueled by reporting the truth. Now, misrepresentation, political agendas and clickbait are the heartbeat of this industry.
We recently saw the cost in Georgia.
A journalist from one of the world’s most prestigious publications reached out to interview several of the state’s top film industry leaders. I’ve seen his email to my coworker. He positioned himself as a reporter working on a news story.
He never mentioned he was writing an opinion piece. He definitely didn’t say he was part of the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship program. If he had, I strongly doubt that he would have gotten access to the people he interviewed.
Then, according to those interviewed, the hours they spent talking to him were distilled into a single, cherry-picked fragment that misrepresented what they said.
That’s not journalism. That’s an agenda.
And it matters. These aren’t just words on a screen. Careers end. Reputations crumble. Lives get upended, all with one click of a publish button. At this moment, people I know personally are worried about their reputations as a result.
Journalists have power. Real power. The kind that can build someone up or tear them down. If we don’t use it responsibly, we deserve exactly what we’re getting: plummeting readership, institutional collapse and public contempt.
Over the course of my career, I benefited from editors who took me under their wings, coached me, helped me avoid exactly these kinds of scenarios and demonstrated the integrity that our role requires.
With dwindling leadership even in the largest newsrooms, I fear this industry will continue to decline. And journalists have no one to blame but themselves.
Only through honesty and integrity can the industry recover and return to the great institution it once was, and it will take real and serious leadership to make that happen before we’re left without journalism entirely.
More:
The Wall Street Journal, opinion and Georgia’s film industry by Randy Davidson
