You don’t get to say “journalism is not a crime” while literally working to criminalize journalism, writes Caitlin Johnstone.
Russian security services have formally filed espionage charges against Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia since his arrest last month. Gershkovich reportedly denies the spying allegations and says he was engaged in journalistic activity in Russia.
This news came out at the same time as a joint statement was published by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell condemning Gershkovich’s detention as a violation of press freedoms.
“Let there be no mistake: journalism is not a crime,” the senators write. “We demand the baseless, fabricated charges against Mr. Gershkovich be dropped and he be immediately released and reiterate our condemnation of the Russian government’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish independent journalists and civil society voices.”
What if Journalism Disappeared? By examining how journalism is missing from many Americans’ lives, we can identify false paths and promising routes to its reinvention
The best western journalists are overwhelmingly despised while the worst are acclaimed millionaires. Western civilisation is built on lies, dependent on lies, powered by lies. Don’t seek widespread approval. It’s worthless.
Welcome to Lobbyland! Lobbyland is an online column dedicated to unravelling the political and corporate spin coming out of Australian politics. To start us off, it has been 1187 days since Scott Morrison formally committed to a “Commonwealth Integrity Commission” on the eve of the 2019 federal election. “A new Commonwealth Integrity Commission will take the lead on detecting and stamping out any corrupt and criminal behaviour by Commonwealth employees,” he assured the nation.
Can a world without the influence of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp be imagined? Alan Austin, it seems, has such a vivid imagination. AT THE BEGINNING of the decade there is optimism for renewal of the media landscape in several countries as support for News Corp appears to be dwindling.
The lack of working-class voices in Australian media is no secret these days. An article by comedian and author Nelly Thomas laments the loss of this important social component and the balance and insight it can bring to privileged journalists in the media. This loss is clearly observed now in the transmigration of journalists within the concentrated media landscape, as former Murdoch’s go to ABC and former ABC’s go to Nine-Fairfax, the working class get squeezed out, the ideas are extruded based on methods learned from a Murdoch tenure or a Channel 10 graduate program, no longer through working-class cadetships and valid lived experience.
Reporting by the mainstream media has resulted in a propaganda machine for the Government in place of actual truth-telling, writes Dr Victoria Fielding. IN THE PAST FORTNIGHT, there has been a distinct shift in the media’s willingness to hold Scott Morrison to account for his responsibilities as Prime Minister. Journalists and commentators are asking why he has not delivered on his two key pandemic jobs — to efficiently roll out the vaccine and to deliver effective quarantine facilities.
In the year since George Floyd’s murder, conservative news outlets have endlessly hyped distorted stories about violence at Black Lives Matter protests. Key videos they used come from a tight-knit group of eight young journalists.
It’s increasingly clear that market-based solutions for news production aren’t helping foster a more equitable and inclusive democracy. In the United States, commercial media share a sizable portion of the blame for the rise of Donald Trump—and, with him, Trump-style white nationalism. What happened in the 20th century, when local print, radio and TV outlets were the best way for advertisers to target local audiences, was a historical fluke. Attempts to rebuild or insulate that old-media model in the 21st century are a fool’s errand. Future solutions must involve new hybrid private- and public-sector models, or direct public funding for journalism, so long as it includes guardrails to protect the editorial independence of news organizations on the receiving end.
There are many qualities that have earned IA its popular reputation – such as its vital role as truth-seeker and investigator, and its non-partisan commentary – but what really sets IA apart for me is its support of “citizen journalism“.
It’s important to remember that our communities know a whole lot more than we do. Engaging in conversation with them will clearly lead to better journalism. This is the credo to which managing editor Dave Donovan, I and, in fact, the whole IA team subscribe.
Unlike most other news sites, we have come down from our ivory tower, crossed the virtual moat and joined the throng. At IA, we encourage our readers to not only comment on the stories, but also pitch the stories and write them. If you have an important story to tell, see our Submission Guidelines. As trained journalists, Dave and I will help bring your story to a publishable standard because we believe in a diversity of voices across the media landscape.
The new media – or “Fifth Estate“, as some call it – is no longer a lecture — now, it’s a multi-directional conversation. Well-known advocate for digital media and entrepeneurial journalism, Mark Briggs, calls it the “sixth W” of journalism“: “who, what, when, why and WE.”
Follow DD or me on Twitter and we’ll follow you back. Respond to one of our tweets and we’ll engage with you — unlike a great many Fourth Estate journos, who have taken to Twitter but don’t follow back or engage. Those “gatekeepers” are still lecturing from their ivory tower and missing most of the facts, debate and real news. You might have an important story to tell — but they’re unlikely to help you tell it, let alone publish it.
And if you subscribe to IA, apart from receiving the daily or weekly newsletter and gifts, you’ll automatically become a member of the IA forum, where you can pitch ideas for stories, engage in discussions, post videos and so on.
We’d love to collaborate with you, so please feel free to come and join the IA family.
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