The difference between journalism and free expression are the ethical values that constrain the work of journalists -- accuracy, independence, impartiality, humanity and accountability. Here they are. 

In Praise of Journalism: A Day to Celebrate the Value of Truth-Telling

Today is World Press Freedom Day (May 3^rd) and a good moment to reflect on how governments around the world are adopting an increasingly aggressive tone towards critical journalism.

The recent 2020 press freedom index from Reporters Without Borders ranks 180 countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists.

It gives a snapshot of how news media are treated. It’s not an indicator of good journalism, but it gives a fair idea of how much freedom media have and the risks that journalists face.

Every year many journalists and media workers are killed, or are physically attacked or sent to jail for doing their job.

Reporters face many threats, from criminal groups or terrorists or others with something to hide. One such victim is freelance journalist Lyra Mckee, who was shot dead last year in a reckless act of political violence by gunmen in Derry.

But it is governments that are mostly to blame. Legal threats, and official pressure on legitimate investigative journalism is rampant and leads to self-censorship on a massive scale. More than 250 journalists are in jail around the world according to press freedom groups.

Some governments are even using the global health emergency as a pretext for repressive measures for purposes unrelated to the pandemic. Journalists are being locked up and media closed down for critical reporting and the internet is being suspended to avoid the spread of internal dissent.

A summary of attacks on press freedom and internal dissent arising from the pandemic can be found in a daily monitor of global media incidents also being compiled by Reporters Without Borders.

Hostility to public interest journalism is not new, but it is worryingly more visible in public life, even in in western countries. In the United States, for example, President Trump punctuates every press conference with hostile and often insulting attacks on news media and individual journalists.

In Britain, prior to the health emergency, the UK government was lining up to attack the BBC and Channel 4, although this approach appears to be on hold and not surprisingly given the public support for their coverage of coronavirus.

Nevertheless, the government is sensitive to criticism from broadcasters and national newspapers, which may explain the introduction of a question from the public at the daily Downing Street press conferences to undermine the domination of proceedings by the major media.

Although these are difficult times for journalists, particularly those trying to hold power to account, there is an unprecedented public appetite for pandemic news.

However, a growing number of people are suffering news fatigue. Research published this week by UK media regulator Ofcom shows that 30% of people are actively seeking to avoid news about the pandemic.

The quality of news is what counts. Reliable journalism is essential, not least to counter disinformation, rumour and conspiracy theories.

Ofcom says that around half the population in Britain has encountered fake news about the pandemic. Some of it links coronavirus to the rollout of 5G mobile phone technology, which has led to some people burning down telecoms equipment. Some are taken in by stories that this is a crisis cooked up in a Chinese laboratory. There has even been an official report from the European Union saying many people in Britain believe that vodka makes a good hand sanitiser!

These claims may be absurd, but they are potentially dangerous when they come from governments and people at the top – as shown by Donald Trump with his suggestion that injecting disinfectant might kill off coronavirus, or Brazilian President Jiar Bolsonaro’s reckless dismissal of concern over the pandemic while thousands of his people are dying.

It is irresponsible political leadership and deceptive handling of the facts that may explain why some people are struggling to know who or what to believe.

It’s in this context that we should pay tribute to good honest journalists and news media trying to tell the story with style and humanity.

Media could be doing more – they could, for example, provide resources to help readers navigate news and dodgy information – but journalists’ work is a vital part of strategies for public safety and holding power to account. That’s worth remembering today of all days.

Journalism in the Pandemic: Public Support, but not from Advertisers

If the pandemic has taught us anything it is that access to accurate, trustworthy and credible sources of news and information has never been more important.

This is good news for journalism and responsible news media which are witnessing an unprecedented surge of public support in the midst of lockdown. 

According to research from the University of Oxford's Reuters Institute, which has been monitoring the UK population’s attitudes to news during the pandemic, the BBC and the Guardian’s coverage of the coronavirus outbreak is considered to be substantially better than other British news outlets.

Mainstream news media have consistently reached record audiences over the last two months, but not all of them are trusted. The Sun and the Mail were the only national newspapers where more people felt they were doing a “bad job” of reporting on the pandemic.

The study shows that the BBC dominates online news, with 37% of the population turning to the corporation’s website for coronavirus news. In all, television broadcasters continue to outrank newspapers for trust ratings and audience levels.

But there’s still a trust problem. The population is more approving of how the government has handled the crisis than how the media has covered it. Around a quarter of the population feel news outlets exaggerate the severity of the crisis.

The fact that news websites have seen record audiences in recent months should be good news for cash-strapped media, but it isn’t.

For years commercial news outlets have faced a continuing collapse in the advertising market. Competition for advertising from big tech companies and a fall in print newspaper sales have destroyed their finances.

The situation is made worse by the fact that the big tech companies like Google appear to be filtering adverts alongside coronavirus-related content on news websites. 

Many brands are using content filters during the pandemic, which prevent their ads from running next to stories including specific terms such as “coronavirus” and “pandemic”. According to the Financial Times, even mentioning “Boris Johnson” will deter some advertisers!

With algorithms diverting advertising and much-needed revenue away from news media that provide useful and popular pandemic coverage there has been a predictable howl of protest from publishers.

Their complaint is, for once, entirely legitimate. At a time when people are yearning for access to useful and truthful information, news outlets should be encouraged to focus on news that will help people to keep safe.

The tech companies are interested, first and foremost, in keeping their advertisers happy and by allowing them to filter out Covid-19 -- effectively penalising journalists for giving the public the information they need – they open the door to more media sensationalism and click bait content.

So far Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and others have been actively promoting public health messages during the crisis, but the tweaking of algorithms to downgrade public interest news is an example of how when it comes to the crunch they will choose to maintain their lucrative business model rather than serve the public interest.