My experience of "Journalism in Society"



There is a keen interest these days in measuring "outcomes" to establish the  level of achievement in any endeavour - from cooking a cake to undertaking a course of instruction.  At the beginning of this semester (see Post 1), I set out my reasons for embarking on “The Journalist in Society”.  Now, as we near the end of this thirteen week course at James Cook University, I will try to assess how adequately,  or otherwise, my hopes for my own engagement have been fulfilled.

Have I found this an interesting course?  I certainly have.  How else could I have glimpsed the meaning of “journalism” in this day and age?  How otherwise would I have learned that there is much more to this field than writing articles in the newspaper?  And through what other means could I have discovered the myriad of forces that shape today’s journalism and the incredibly complex and challenging world that today’s journalists inhabit? 

Have I learned some new skills?  Yes!  In fact I’m amazed by how many I have acquired, though I’d be the first to admit that there is a lot more for me to learn (specially about the ability to be concise - and to keep quiet occasionally!)  I’m certainly not a whiz in the world of social media but I'm proud that I now have a nodding acquaintance with Facebook and Twitter.  And I have a blog too!  Who would have thought I’d learn about those esoteric concepts and even in a limited way be able to use them?

Have I staved off mental decline?  Well, I guess that is for others to guess.  I’d certainly concede I'm not the fastest thinker in the class but I do have some considerable determination and I think that has helped me to at least try to conquer things that are, for me, new and very different to those I have known before.  For someone who has never been particularly mentally adventurous, I don’t think I’ve done too badly.

And finally, have I had fun?  If I were a lot younger I’d be tempted to say, “you betcha!” but, at the sage age of 68, I will settle instead for a relatively sedate “I’ve enjoyed this experience more than I could have imagined”.   To be able to hear so many new ideas, to be able to contribute, to meet a new group of friendly people of all ages, to be able to groan and to laugh – all these have been joys indeed.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my lecturer, Marie M’Balla Ndi, for her excellent presentation of some very interesting material and her patience and help to me personally.  I would also like to thank the School of Journalism for allowing me to participate in JN1001 as a University of the Third Age student.

Anne Atkinson

The Role of the Media Release

The Australian Association of Social Workers' formal response to the 2013 - 2014 Federal budget (AASW Media Release 15.5.2013) clearly reflects its commitment to human rights and social justice. (AASW Practice Standards Draft 2, 2013)  It delivers a report card, from the point of view of a significant human service profession, on a document which will have a profound effect on the lives of Australians in the coming year and beyond.

It applauds the Australian Government for a budget that will increase support to people living with disabilities, better target family tax benefits to lower income families, and significantly improve the level of oral health care for children and young people.  It likewise compliments the Government on establishing a secure funding base for both the NDIS and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Childhood Sexual Assault, and it supports the increase in funding for the Mental Health Nurse Incentive program which targets disadvantaged people suffering from mental illness. 

It expresses its concern, however, that the Newstart Allowance has not been increased, leaving the unemployed and many single parents on very low incomes.  And it also criticizes the Government for its very substantial cuts (2.3 billion dollars) to Higher Education Funding.

Like the multitude of other interest groups within our community, the AASW is using the avenue of the Media Release (on this occasion within the context of the budget process) to put its views to our political leaders and to the community generally. 

The media release, strategically used, can be a powerful tool of public influence.  The priorities of the AASW are not, of course, shared by everyone (economists, for example, may well have a different view) but the AASW has taken the opportunity, in its release on the latest Budget, to clearly signal its own position on social justice and its defence of the rights of all members of our society. 

References:

Australian Association of Social Workers  Media Release Professional Body for Social Workers Welcomes 2013 - 2014 Budget  AASW Canberra  2013  Web.
Australian Association of Social Workers  Practice Standards (Draft 2) - Consultation  AASW Canberra 2013  Web

 

Investigative Journalism - How it is helping to reveal past child sexual abuse in the Anglican Church

St Barnabus class photo from 1966 with Robert Waddington, centre, wearing cap
(reprinted with permission)

 



Today, Friday, 10th May, 2013, The Australian has published a lead article and two further articles (including a substantial  account in the "A Plus" section of the paper) on the evils of child sexual abuse within the Anglican Church.  The fact that the articles concern the alleged abusive behaviour of a leading cleric at different stages in his career make the revelations particularly shocking. (McKenna, Gearing, O'Neill, 1, 6;  Gearing, A. ,6;  McKenna, M, Gearing, A. 9) 

One of the reported victims was a  young student at St Barnabus School, Ravenshoe, during the 1960’s;  the other was a choir boy at Manchester Cathedral during the 1980’s.  The desperately sad effects of physical and sexual abuse suffered at the hands of Waddington are graphically described by the now 59 year old St Barnabus old boy in a video released by The Australian: 

http://video.theaustralian.com.au/2384283780/Church-abuse-victim-speaks

From a journalistic point of view, the significant feature about these articles is that the story is based on a joint investigation by The Times and The Australian, both of which have published their findings on the same day.  Their investigations have revealed that church officials, including Lord Hope, the former Archbishop of York, failed to report police allegations made in 1999 by the Queensland victim and those made in 2003 by the Manchester victim.  The only explanation for this appalling breach of proper process appears to be that the church deliberately sought to keep each of the victims ignorant of the other in order to protect the Church, and Waddington, from a damaging legal enquiry.

Up to this point, most media attention has been directed towards the past transgressions of the Catholic Church but the revelations in these articles seem to indicate a  serious culpability on the part of the Anglican Church as well.   The revelations that have been made in these particular articles are certainly directed at a matter of great public interest; they are based on exhaustive and intensive investigation by a team of journalists from opposite sides of the world; and they will very probably launch an ongoing process with the path now open for other, probable, victims to come forward and with significant pressure now being placed upon the Church to address the serious issues raised. 

There are occasions when the media, by focussing attention on a particular issue of public concern, can do a great deal to force action by society to address the matter in question.  This seems to be one of those occasions.  It is to be hoped that this investigation, along with the recently established Royal Commission recently launched by the Australian Prime Minister, will help to ensure a much better oversight, and regulation, of the child care provided by Australian (and British) Anglican institutions in the future.

McKenna, M. Gearing, A. O'Neill, S.  "Child sex scandal in two countries rocks church."  The Australian 10 May, 2013. pp. 1/6
Gearing, A.  "Choirboy haunted by painful memories." The Australian 10 May, 2013.  p.6
McKenna, M. Gearing, A. "Church's Wall of Silence." The Australian  10 May, 2013.  p.9

 

We all leave our mark

In days gone by – even in my childhood – many little girls completed a sampler.  This activity, which would probably be regarded as extremely "old hat" by young women of today, served as a way to learn about sewing and, more specifically, the gentle art of embroidery.  

My husband’s great grandmother, Hannah Jane Thompson, completed her sampler when she was nine years old.  Here it is, speaking to us from 1838 – 175 years ago.  It is being held by her great great great grandson, Miles Lyster, who lives half way round the world from the English village that was the home of his distant ancestor.

 



And here is a portrait of Hannah just after her wedding in 1847.  In those days, photography was still in the future but this dainty portrait by a society painter of the day helps us to see her as a young English lady on the brink of her new life as a wife and mother.

 



We also have Hannah Jane’s precious 1861 "memories", her record of her life to that point.  She composed it for her many children and perhaps she hoped that it would carry with it something of her life long after she was gone.  (She actually lived on to the ripe old age of 80 - a good innings for a person at that time.)

 



All these are nothing more than “things”, of course, but they help us, living all these years later, to know a little about a lady whose place in the family would otherwise be lost to us forever.  I’m pleased her family have kept these mementos.  They remind us that, however transitory a human life may seem to be, each is significant and all leave as imprint (including that all-important DNA) on the world we so fleetingly inhabit.

Can Journalism call itself a profession?

It is generally accepted that Journalism does not enjoy the same high status as many other professions (Lynch, A. Blog).  Which raises two questions:  is Journalism actually a profession (as opposed, say, to a craft), and how can we account for its relatively low public reputation.

To answer the first question, we must first establish the criteria that characterize all professions.  The following would probably be regarded as essential:

1.  an accepted overall purpose which is generally related to service,
2. an associated body of knowledge,
3. a recognized skill base and
4. a prescribed system of ethics. 

These four aspects find expression in the practice expectations of all professions and in each one, ideally, there should be little dissonance between the four different elements.  In reality, of course, there are occasions in which there is a degree of conflict.  It is the manner in which such conflict is resolved that really determines the status of a profession in the eyes of the public it serves.

Moving now to the fundamental purpose of journalism, it has been proposed that the news media should provide a “true and useful picture of the world around us” and that the responsibility of the ethical reporter is to “tell the truth, to be accurate, to be fair, and to act without fear or favour…” (Hirst, M. and Patching, R. p.3)  Few people would disagree with this assessment although it must be said that, in the world of reality, we cannot always agree on what is “true”, “useful” and “fair”.

That journalism has a body of knowledge is demonstrated by the number of texts and references available - in print and on the web - and the proliferation of schools of journalism within recognized educational institutions today.  That journalism has a recognized suite of skills is likewise shown by the practices of journalists from the time-honoured strategies of those working in the print media to those used in the more modern web formats.

Ethics, however, invariably involve tricky moral issues and it is in this complex area that even very committed journalists can find themselves coming unstuck.  Two circumstances, which particularly confront journalists, will serve to illustrate this point.

·         At what point do the ends (of arguing a particular position) justify the means (of obtaining information to support it)?  The behaviour of Kevin Carter who took a carefully composed, but deeply distressing, photograph of a vulture stalking a starving Sudanese child is, at best, very disturbing and, at worst, completely unacceptable. (See photo in Boddy-Evans, “The Journalist, the Vulture and the Child”.)

·         And how does a journalist serve a multitude of masters without betraying one or more of them?  Unavoidably, the journalist will sometimes find himself caught between his  conflicting  loyalties to his audience, his editor and the commercial market in which he operates.  How this conflict is resolved is not always a constant – it often depends as much upon the journalist’s personal integrity (or lack of it) as it does upon any other factor.

Thus, to answer our first question, then, it would seem that journalism meets the first three criteria for professionalism reasonably well.  (i.e. It has a widely accepted overall purpose, an associated body of knowledge and a commonly recognized skill base.)  What it is still grappling with, however, is its comparative lack of a uniformly recognized ethical framework.  To the extent that journalists are frequently not called to account when their code of practice is violated, it must be concluded that journalism has not yet met all the criteria attached to being a true profession.

The answer to our second question really follows on from our answer to the first.  Once its ethical structure has been more effectively defined and regulated (both internally and externally), journalism will have earned its place as a profession and, with it, a much higher place in the esteem and respect of its public audience. 
 

Lynch, Art  “Is Journalism a Profession?” Communication Professor.  7 April, 2013.  Web.  6^th May, 2013

Hirst M. and Patching R.  Journalism Ethics.  Melbourne: Oxford University Press. 2005. Print.

Boddy-Evans, A. “The Journalist, the Vulture and the Child” in http://africanhistory.about.com/b/2006/04/12/the-journalist-the-vulture-and-the-child.htm. 12th April, 2006.  Web.  6^th May, 2013

Anniversary - a review of an article on the outcomes of the Vietnam War

A North Vietnamese Tank rolls through the gates of the Presidential  Palace in Saigon on 30/4/1975*

 

 



Today, 30^th April, 2013, marks the 38^th anniversary of the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) to the North Vietnamese forces.

Hoi Trinh, a lawyer of South Vietnamese heritage, is not a war correspondent in the normally accepted sense of the word.  But he is an extremely capable reporter of the powerful but unseen controls operating in a seemingly “peaceful” country not far from our own doorstep.  As a member of “Voice”, a non-government organization committed to developing a civil society in Vietnam, Hoi Trinh has shown the power of words to convey to the public an understanding of the nature of the regime in his family’s original country.  

In a thoughtful article, “Even in peace Vietnam doesn’t enjoy freedom,” published in the The Age today, Hoi Trinh, states that the “peace” that came to Vietnam with the unification of the north and south brought with it an enormous loss of human rights and democratic freedoms.  For people like his own teacher father, life after the war involved removal to a re-education camp, lack of access to meaningful work and eviction of the family to a new economic zone.  It was perhaps not surprising that his father chose the hazards of escaping, with his family, to another country over the human costs attached to remaining in his own.

In submitting his story for publication, Hoi Trinh has shown great courage in staring down the leaders of a country in which he would be a citizen if it were not for the decision of his family to take their chances in the first wave of “boat people” leaving their country.  He has also squarely confronted Australians (many of whom have come to see Vietnam as a delightful holiday destination) with the reality that in this same country, all land is still held by the State, many dissidents remain in prison,   Facebook and pro-democracy blogs and websites are banned, independent media are disallowed, protests are banned, and civil rights defenders are harassed and persecuted.

Hoi Trinh has provided us with an interesting, and certainly disturbing, article in a very professional manner.  He has written with strong commitment, with intimate knowledge of his subject and with his lawyer’s awareness of his legal rights and responsibilities.  We need more journalists like him.

 

*Photo Acknowledgement.  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/7652593

Reference List:

1.  Trinh, Hoi.  “Even in Peace Vietnam doesn’t enjoy Freedom.” The Age 30 April, 2013.  Web.
2. Website of Voice (Vietnam Overseas Initiative for Conscience Empowerment) 2008  Web  30 April  2013                                                                                                                                                    .

What Anzac Day means to me...

Anzac Day, the quintessential day of Australian remembrance, is marked by solemn services and by marches around the country.  It falls on 25^th April, the day of the disastrous landing at Gallipoli in 1915 and it honours not only those who fell on that particular day but those who have given their lives in other theatres of war and those who have returned (many with physical and psychological wounds) to their home country.

That all these men and women should be revered in our memory goes without question but there does seem to be a legitimate argument that our admiration and respect for these heroes might be having the effect of blinding us to other aspects of the reality of war. I have some awareness of the effects of war on many of my own relatives and I cannot help but wonder how their lives would have been different had they not felt the obligation to go away to fight.

My father E.D.Murray on Anzac Day 2007

 

My own late father was one such person.  He left Australia to fight as an idealistic new graduate in the early 1940's and he performed his duties as a young officer with great gallantry, earning a Military Cross in the process.  But the horror of his war time experiences both in Africa and later in New Guinea brought great psychological suffering from which he never fully recovered though he certainly achieved much in his post-war life.  He did not, however, speak of the war to his family, and it was only when he was very old and unable to keep his demons at bay that the realities of his war experience bubbled, inexorably, to the surface.

We should feel an enormous sense of gratitude that we in Australia live in a country where democracy and the rule of law have largely averted the horrors of civil war.  I find it worrying, however, that Australia continues to send its men and women to help fight other countries' wars.  Perhaps, in this new global world, we have no choice but to take sides in the interests of our own future protection but we should never forget that the human consequences for all involved in these dreadful conflicts are almost incalculable.
 

Wars are still being fought all over the world, some with enormous loss of life and compounding human tragedy as the weapons of destruction become more complex and deadly.  Not all of these conflicts find their ways into the Western media - look at the almost complete lack of coverage in the non-African press of the Second Congo War where it is calculated 3 to 5 million people have been lost since 1998 (Hawkins qtd. in Wikipedia) - but all inflict loss of life, subjugation of the conquered and great privation for the those who manage to escape the bloodshed to simply survive in desperate, over-crowded refugee camps.  

There is nothing romantic about what is, in actual fact, systematized violence.  Perhaps we, as human beings, need to be devoting our energies to finding solutions to the problems of this conflicted and unequal world rather than eulogizing the enormous sacrifices that wars exact from those who are killed and maimed and those who are left behind.
 

Hawkins, Virgil  Stealth Conflicts: How the World's Worst Violence Is Ignored Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2008 quoted in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War#cite_note-8. Web.