What Makes a Journalist a Journalist?
By
GREGORY J. RUMMO
OCTOBER
14, 2002
IN
THE INTRODUCTION to my book,
The
View from the Grass Roots, I state: “Let me warn
you: I am not a journalist.”
What I
meant when I wrote that was that journalism is not my
profession. I don’t earn a living writing a syndicated
newspaper column. But it is my passion and sometimes it
borders on an obsession.
If you are
beginning to sense a mea culpa in the works,
you’re right.
Think of
it in terms of Leonard Nimoy’s confusing first
book, “I Am Not Spock,” followed up several years later
by his equally schizophrenic sequel, “I Am Spock.”
In the
latter, the actor explains, “If you want to get
technical I am not Spock. I am an actor named Leonard
Nimoy who plays that character. At the same time, a
perfectly good argument could be made that I am Spock…As
an actor, I’ve used my own emotional (or unemotional)
resources to help create the character… I brought part
of myself to the role…”
I can
empathize with Mr. Spock’s, er, Mr. Nimoy’s
vacillations. His thoughts are as clear as if he
performed the Mind Meld on me.
As it
turns out, I am a journalist and not just
according to some old pointy-eared Vulcan who elevated
logic to ethereal heights. If you judge me by the
strictest standards, set by an esteemed institution such
as the Columbia University School of Journalism, you
will learn that I am eminently qualified for my role.
Last July,
The Wall Street Journal featured a column written
by Tunku Varadarajan entitled “A Matter of Degree: Which
One Makes a Journalist?”
The column
ignited the old debate about which course of study is
best suited for a person interested in becoming a
journalist. Lee C. Bollinger, Columbia’s new president
had suspended its search for a new dean for its graduate
school of journalism until the school could re-evaluate
its program.
“If [our]
journalism school is to do nothing more than teach its
students a ‘trade’ (writing, reporting, sourcing,
etc.)—one that can be learned so much better at an
actual newspaper or magazine—does it really belong at
Columbia?” he told Mr. Varadarajan.
“To teach the craft of journalism
is a worthy goal but clearly insufficient,” Dr.
Bollinger added.
What is
implied is that a 10-month “workshop” that teaches only
the mechanics of journalism is simply too shallow.
Better to have a master’s degree in some other
discipline coupled with the ability to write well.
Imagine a
writer, with a journalism degree trying to write an
in-depth piece on the latest advances in pharmaceutical
research. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate—and helpful—if
he had a master’s degree in chemistry, for example,
coupled with a good command of the English language?
“…In the
real world of journalism, a master’s degree from a
decent university—in history, say, or the sciences—is
more likely to get you in the door at [The Wall
Street Journal] or the New York Times than a
master’s in journalism from Columbia,” explains Mr.
Varadarajan.
So, after
all, I am a bona fide journalist.
With the
title; however, comes responsibility.
Journalists are supposed to live up to a code of ethics
that includes accuracy, fairness and objectivity. As
America has become more ideologically polarized, good
journalism has become an oxymoron at some
newspapers.
Opinion
often creeps into news stories. Often this is blatant
although usually, it is as subtle as a writer’s choice
of one verb over another. Editors can emphasize the tone
and the relative importance of a story by the photos
selected or a story’s placement—on the front page or on
page 23B. Or maybe if it’s a particularly damaging story
about “their guy” the editors will simply decide not to
run a story at all.
Not
reporting the news can often be just as biased as
what is reported, where it’s reported and how it’s
spun.
When bias
is evident among those who make the claim they are
objective, it results in a backlash. Books such as
“Bias,” written by CBS insider Bernard Goldberg and
“Slander” by Ann H. Coulter are two recent examples.
Couple this with the popularity of mostly-conservative
talk-radio and one is left to wonder if true objectivity
is possible.
I make no
pretense about being objective. I write an opinion
column and am therefore entitled to offer my opinion
which I do unapologetically Sometimes, I use my column
as a forum to break news or to highlight a story that
the mainstream newspapers relegate to the back pages or
the spike.
When I do
this it is my hope that my readers will think and form
their own opinion about a story. And if I can
make a reader think—that, I believe, is a part of what
comprises good journalism. n
Gregory J. Rummo is a syndicated columnist and author of “The View from
the Grass Roots,” published in July, 2002 by
American-Book. You may order an autographed copy directly from the author by clicking on the banner below
or from Amazon.com.
You may e-mail the author at GregoryJRummo@aol.com
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