Friday, May 22, 2009

The Journalist as Activist

A Rwandan victim of Hutu-Tutsi conflict (James Nachtwey).


For the last three years, I have not been allowed to participate in any activist or political activities whatsoever. This was a requirement of my job as a public radio journalist. The management explained away any qualms we might have with this requirement through the noble goal of "unbiased journalism."

As a former student activist, I found giving up activism in the name of journalism a frightful idea. What is journalism, after all, but one of the oldest forms of consciousness raising and empowerment? What is journalism if we take out anything controversial -- anything with victims or perpetrators?

While I love journalism, I am frustrated by those who continue to deny any link between being an activist and being a journalist. That is why I was so excited to see this TED talk by renowned photojournalist James Nachtwey about his life as a war photographer. Nachtwey will receive an Internews Media Leadership Award on June 2nd.
Posted by at
Labels: ,

1 comment:

  1. NickMay 27, 2009 at 1:11 AM

    Are we sure we want this?

    I mean, I get where you're going. But I worry that you're assuming that mixing activism and journalism will move the latter in a more liberal direction. Isn't it just as likely to move journalism in a conservative direction -- isn't that the lesson of Fox "News"?

    Ultimately, aren't both sides served somewhat by a relatively impartial media that has some claims to respectability and impartiality?

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)