Cheer up, Journalism is All the Rage

Welcome 2011. You have not come soon enough. The traditional media have had another miserable year. Circulations continue to tumble and no magic formula has been found to revive the industry.

But don't lose heart. Even if the days of the newspaper cash-cow are gone forever, there are still reasons to be cheerful for fans of real journalism. Here are four:

1. WikiLeaks Makes us Strong: the decision by WikiLeaks to use respected journalists working on serious newspapers to sift and analyse a torrent of information snitched from United States diplomatic sources is great news for journalists everywhere.

It proves beyond doubt what we already knew (that politicians keep secrets to save face rather than to protect their public) and also what some of us have been saying for years -- that it's not enough to have access to information these days; we need to have information made accessible.

The WikiLeaks saga has shown that this is best done by journalists who know what they are doing and have some sense of public decency. These are reporters who do not work for scandal-sheets, routinely make up stories, distort quotes, fiddle their expenses or play fast and loose with every ethical obligation journalism has to offer.

Five different versions of the WikiLeaks cables were produced for their local audiences by Le Monde, El Pais, Der Spiegel, The Guardian and the New York Times. Thousands more were published by quality media following up the stories around the world. Each was distinct, relevant and to the point. People got the information they needed without having to wade through dense and impeneterable data spewed out by the WikiLeaks server. Thank God for journalists, for once.

2. Ethics are back: The big story inside journalism these days is a revival of fact-based, value-added story telling. While traditional media have made savage cuts in editorial to squeeze every last penny of profit out of the news business, journalists are getting back to basics and rediscovering the ethical foundations that made journalism relevant to democracy in the latter years of the 20th Century. Go to http://www.ethicaljournalisminitiative.org/ to see what I mean.

It's an obvious truth that ethical reporting and making money in the news business don't necessarily go together. In fact, Rupert Murdoch's US-based Fox News has discovered a new revenue model -- unethical journalism. The network's brand of fiery, opinionated and right-wing commentary feeds racism and discord. It is piling on the ratings as it reaches out to communities fearful about jobs and the economy with populist and hateful messages about immigration, muslims and the feckless poor. This is biased reporting at its worst. Balanced journalism is nowhere to be seen. It makes America small, but it makes Murdoch money.

To counter this dangerous drift to mediocre populism, the ranks of journalism are being strengthened by a new movement of reporters and editors -- many of them forced out of jobs by the traditional media -- who want to restore some of the values that made them want to become journalists in the first place.

3. Investigative Journalism is all the Rage: All around the world groups of journalists are forming investigative journalism networks. (see http://www.publicintegrity.org/ for example.) These groups are sprnging up everywhere - in Europe, the Arab World, Latin America. They are supported by charities, foundations and and local communities who see the value of good journalism for democracy and good governance.

Studies by the World Bank and the open government campaign group Transparency International show that investigative reporting is vital when it comes to exosing graft and misconduct in public life. Even the cheerless dinosaurs of the Chinese Communist Party recognise that good journalism is an antidote to official corruption.

The focus on investigative journalism also illustrates the limitations of social networking. Twittering is good for gossip and focused pressure, but the hard work of investigating misdemeanors in public life requires diligent and professional skills. Facebook and other networks get messages out, but we need journalists to work on these stories and give them direction.

4. Journalism - It's a Public Good After All: We all know why we like journalism -- fame, excitement, exotic lifestyle, money --but it rarely turns out that way. The old notions of journalism as an attractive career option are gone forever. Today journalism is about professionalism, working your socks off and telling stories that not only people are interested in, but are in the public interest.

The failure of the private sector to make sufficient profit out of public journalism means new sources of funding are being found to pay for this sort of journalism -- but not to fill the pockets of sensation seekers.

People who write well and have a social conscience will find that there is a future in their craft if they focus on stories that matter to people -- exposing wrong-doing, giving voice to minority opinion, raging against discrimination and unfairness, telling tales of ordinary lives with lashings of style and humanity.

Taxpayers' money is being increasingly used to support public interest journalism. In the last year the European Union set aside more than a million Euro to pay for independent journalism At national level public subscription and direct grants are being used to support research, training and networks of reporters who are better able to connect with the public they serve.

All this points towards a bright future for journalism after years of pessimism and decline. But it is not journalism of the old school. It is journalism driven by public interest not private gain. For many of us, it's the best news we've had in years.