Over a year ago, a large letter “J” dominated a portion of the space across from my office at Poynter.
I think it was left over from the retirement party for my predecessor, Jim Naughton. All the other decorations were put to rest, but the J lingered on. At some point, Vice President Roy Peter Clark awarded it to a new employee, J. Paige West, a talented producer for NewsU. Maybe she thought of it as part of her rookie hazing, because she kept this 3- to 4-foot letter on her desk until she moved to a nearby office.
It is appropriate to have a big “J” at Poynter, because Poynter is all about journalism. When I think about the ASJMC Gerald M. Sass Distinguished Service to Journalism and Mass Communication Award, one word that stands out is Journalism.
These days I’m concerned about journalism, as are many of you. As another school year begins, one of the most important commitments for journalism and mass communicators is to support the value and values of journalism. We need to make the case that journalism matters.
Public confidence in news media has declined, according to surveys and audience measures. My mind is not on audiences. It’s on owners and senior executives, on newsroom journalists, and even on our role as journalism and mass communication educators.
Some owners assign their news operations about as much value as bread on a grocery store shelf.Some owners assign their news operations about as much value as bread on a grocery store shelf. They measure success by the numbers. Instead of counting inventory, the measure is quarterly profits. When numbers are down, they change the wrapping, the design or format. They change the price. They cross-promote with the other products, combining news and entertainment as easily as putting bread near the meat in a store. They move things around on shelves in a grocery. In the case of media, they move people. They cut deliveries in certain areas that don’t seem profitable. Some owners see news operations as just another product in a big store.
That’s a long way from Nelson Poynter’s concept that “[o]wnership, or participation in ownership, of a publication or broadcasting property is a sacred trust and a great privilege.” Poynter was publisher of the St. Petersburg Times and founder of the Poynter Institute. He believed news operations should be sound businesses producing reasonable profits. He believed in quality journalism. He saw profits as necessary to produce exceptional journalism. Now it seems the goal is marginal work on the way to producing large returns. Poynter believed in the value of independent news organizations, free from both external forces and internal pressures. He believed in the value of serving a community. That requires a long-term investment and focus to build the needed connection with citizens.
You know bread doesn’t have to connect with other items in the store, but a news organization needs to connect in its community. With all due respect to bakers, the content of bread is only important up to a point. It should be tasty and do no harm. After that, it’s just white bread. The content of news reports matters a lot.
In turning back the clock to Nelson Poynter, I’m not longing for some imagined good old days. History shows that through the years many owners only cared about profits. And I’m not painting all media leaders today with one stroke. Many owners, publishers, general managers and other senior executives uphold sound values in difficult times. They are upholding a special trust, and we should help them in our teaching and in addressing the public on the role of media. We can help build an understanding of the value of news and the values that journalists uphold.
I’m also concerned about journalists. In its 30th year, Poynter continues to draw journalists and media leaders, but something is different now. As we debrief after programs, Poynter faculty note a growing number of participants who talk of getting out of this business. They are worn from budget cuts and demoralized by messages that say what they do doesn’t matter. They came to journalism to make a difference, but now they produce unsatisfying reports: unsatisfying to the public and to the journalists who produce them.
Let’s face it. A good bit of daily journalism needs to be better.Let’s face it. A good bit of daily journalism needs to be better. Many organizations offer a muddled definition of news with stories that repetitively report on topics of little importance. Too many stories show inadequate reporting. Too many stories are unclear and not compelling.
Why does this happen? Newsroom journalists will tell you that they don’t know enough about complex topics. They don’t have opportunities for professional development and they don’t have enough time to do a good job. In short, they don’t have the support to produce exceptional journalism.
Colleges and universities have a role in encouraging training. They can help individuals improve by coaching and devising study plans, including readings and online courses such as those on NewsU. They can offer group development through workshops and special programs. They can provide longer training through courses and partnerships with training organizations such as Poynter.
Educators can also point out avenues of hope. Two recent deaths offer lessons on improving journalism. ABC anchor Peter Jennings’ death was part of the changing of the guard at television’s evening news. As you watch the work of Rather, Brokaw and Jennings, you sense that they understood news; they covered tough stories, and knew how to report clearly and compellingly. We find models for journalists today.
In the death of John H. Johnson… we find lessons from an entrepreneur who understood how to connect a community.In the death of John H. Johnson, founder of Ebony magazine, we find lessons from an entrepreneur who understood how to connect a community. His community was African-Americans, and in the 1940s he built readership of Ebony. Studies probably would have said blacks didn’t have the interest, literacy rate or income level at that time to support the magazine, but Johnson found success. His publication allowed people to see themselves and their aspirations in the coverage. That’s something news organizations could learn about today.
Another reason to celebrate is the courage and competence displayed by thousands of journalists each day. Yes, a lot of journalism needs to be improved; but there are journalistic jewels all over each day. Just look at award-winning journalism from television, online, radio and newspaper examples. Poynter publishes works by the winners of the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Distinguished Writing Awards annually. In the 2005 edition of “Best Newspaper Writing,” you read about:
- The Washington Post’s coverage of the southeast Asian tsunami, including reports by a bureau chief in the area, a reporter on vacation in the area and photojournalists who capture the scenes and see death all about them;
- A New York Times reporter who traveled with Marines in Iraq;
- A former St. Petersburg Times reporter who followed a very modern East Indian college student for three years as the young woman made decisions about the tradition of arranged marriages;
- A columnist for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, who has Lou Gehrig’s disease, who wrote about trying to communicate with his family. When the family dog sleeps on a sofa, he says “smack the dog.” They debate whether he’s saying “Magna Carta” or “Madagascar”;
- A Washington Post photojournalist who created a visual narrative of a former delinquent making the choices that lead to his high school graduation;
- An L.A. Times photojournalist who captured a woman who had a hysterectomy to prevent the spread of cancer, only to learn the doctor was wrong. She didn’t have cancer;
- An editorial writer at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette who led by asking what nicknames fathers might have called three teenage girls killed in a car accident, an accident that might have been prevented if officials had responded to repeated requests for a better traffic signal at a dangerous intersection;
- An obituary writer at The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer who brings citizens to life through her writing of their obits. Here’s an example of how one begins:
The retired parish housekeeper, who died Aug. 2 at age 96, routinely walked around the dining table in the rectory, offering coffee to each priest.
“Would Father like regular or decaf?” the 4-foot-something Werfel asked them one by one.
Regardless of the priests’ individual preferences, she filled all their cups with coffee from the same pot. The coffee drinkers silently accepted what they got, as though Werfel really could turn regular coffee into decaffeinated, much the way that the biblical Jesus turned water into wine.
Outstanding journalism appears in stories from near and far places; in once-in-a-life events and everyday occurrences; in large news organizations and small ones; on television, radio, newspaper and online.
We need to remind the public and journalists of examples of greatness every day. A quality news report forms the glue that holds a community together. It keeps a community in conversation with itself when so many forces would pull it apart. It helps us understand the things that matter and act responsibly as citizens.
If journalism falters, democracy is in danger.
I have another concern. I’m concerned about our role as educators in supporting the value and values of journalism.
In our role of critiquing journalism, it’s easy to focus on lapses and forget to celebrate what’s working; in informing students about the future of news media, we can linger on predictions of the demise of news and forget to ground them in the mission of journalists. The mission is helping citizens in a democracy. It is through developing a personal mission that journalists can find fulfillment.
We can devote so much attention to the latest technology, trying to be sure that we keep up, that we skimp on the basics of craft, basics that will transcend media platforms; we can get so dangled up in administration and curriculum and activities, and forget about the “J.”
AEJMC (the association of journalism educators) is experiencing an unusual number of changes in deans and other unit leaders. Leadership changes often mean program changes. In all the changes, I hope we don’t forget the “J.”
(This) award stirs memories of Gerald Sass, a man who cared about those who needed a boost.The Gerald M. Sass Distinguished Service to Journalism and Mass Communication Award reminds me of journalism, my professional passion since the seventh grade, but it stirs two other thoughts. I’ll mention them quickly. The award stirs memories of Gerald Sass, a man who cared about those who needed a boost.
I was a young faculty member at Tennessee State University when I attended a meeting for Historically Black Colleges at the Freedom Forum and met Gerald Sass. After the meeting, a circle surrounded Gerald Sass. I stood there looking at the tall, calm gentleman; and I thought of his work reaching out to others. He was involved in helping those who needed a boost.
That was something I could understand. I was blessed to have wonderful parents, parents who appreciated education. Charles and Mary Fitzgerald both had master’s degrees, but they weren’t wealthy or even middle-class. My father regularly told his two daughters, “You girls need to go to college; and you need to earn a scholarship.”
I’m grateful for those who helped me. When I finished high school, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority gave me a scholarship. The Nashville Banner gave me a summer job. Michigan State University provided a package to help: a journalism scholarship, a work/study job that let me work at the radio station and at the student newspaper, The State News, and a student loan.
Years later, Tennessee State University offered a graduate assistantship that allowed me to become a teacher. Later, they provided a grant to assist my doctoral study, and the University of Tennessee provided a Bickel Fellowship.
I’m grateful for those who provided a way for me, and I hope paths are still available. University costs are rising. Sometimes it seems concern is diminishing for those who aren’t the top tier of students. Some students can’t throw down a credit card to register; some struggle with costs even when they have financial aid. Some need to know that college is an option. Many need the creative efforts of a university to open doors. The task can be messy, but it is worthwhile. I hope we all help those who need a boost.
Finally, this award speaks of Distinguished Service. As teachers we are in the service business. Let us recommit to another year of distinguished service.
Elnora Martin… did what so many teachers do well: they name the calling in a student’s heart.Elnora Martin was the seventh grade teacher who said I’d become a journalist. She said it casually because I had impressed her in a word game. She did what so many teachers do well: they name the calling in a student’s heart.
Dr. Jamye Williams was chair of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Scholarship Committee that gave me an award as I finished high school. She was also head of the Department of Communication at Tennessee State University. When I started my freshmen year at Michigan State, I wrote a note to her, and we’re still communicating. Over the years, she became head of my masters study at TSU and she hired me to teach. She and her husband, Dr. MacDonald Williams, became my mentors and were a major reason that I undertook study for the doctorate. Outside of my parents, they have been a major force in my life. Great teachers can turn your life around.
Stan Soffin was a very junior faculty member at Michigan State when I took his scholastic journalism class. His casual, upbeat manner made me feel included. Many of our students don’t feel included. They feel that they are tolerated, maybe even accepted, but not included.
Philip Korth was a history teacher at MSU who directed an independent study that I sought on the Harlem Renaissance. I thought I knew more about the Harlem Renaissance than he did but he knew a lot more about the library than I. He’d give me an assignment and I’d come back excited by what I had learned. Then he’d share in my excitement. Good teachers learn with their students. This was the best class of my formal education. I accepted science, history and other classes intellectually; my spirit soared in my journalism classes; but the study of the Harlem Renaissance touched my soul.
George Everett was my advisor at the University of Tennessee and the one who encouraged me when some didn’t think I could make it. He wasn’t flashy, but he was a steady good guide. He made a difference when I needed it.
When I taught at the University of South Florida, I was surprised to receive a teaching award. It was a reminder that teaching matters.
I have been surrounded by distinguished teachers, and journalism and mass communication programs are full of distinguished teachers. Another school year is beginning. I encourage you to:
- Look for new ways to support the value and values of journalism
- Find ways to help students who need a boost
- And look ahead to a year of even greater service
And by the way, there’s a big “J” in my school. I hope there’s a big “J” in yours.
