An open thank you letter to journalists
Readly's Helen Brown encourages media consumers to give credit where it is due: to the journalists who sometimes put their lives on the line to help keep us all connected.
As the problem of fake news increases, while criticism of trusted media proliferates, little thanks are given to journalists. Since the start of the COVID pandemic and through the unrelenting news cycle that’s followed, we need journalists now more than ever to keep the world connected and societies accountable.
They’re the people who relentlessly disseminate the facts from fiction and connect us to what’s happening in the world – despite the many stones thrown at them.
News outlets not only inform, they can also entertain and provide escapism. Magazines seek to inspire and satisfy our curiosity for the interests and hobbies we love. We immerse ourselves in content on a daily basis, giving barely any thought to the people who create it.
The recent Future of Work in Journalism report written by Dr Jim Stanford for the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute, highlighted how journalists are producing more, with less – while enduring technological change, job losses, and restructuring.
The report argued that quality journalism is a ‘public good’ in a modern democracy, because of its importance in distributing reliable information (including on emergencies, like the pandemic) to citizens.
As Marcus Strom, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance’s Federal President, said: “The report makes it clear that years of disruption, undermining and neglect have left Australian journalism and journalists in a fragile state”.
“Public interest journalism is a public good. It informs and entertains Australians, ensures the public’s right to know and holds the powerful to account.”
Journalists are not the frontline workers we thanked during the pandemic, yet they worked tirelessly to keep us informed and up-to-date. There are journalists reporting from war zones and dictator oppression. Most recently eight journalists have been tragically killed in Ukraine.
And yet while journalists continue to be criticised in these times, research shows not everything is as bad as people might think. Researchers at the University of Canberra worked with media monitoring company Streem to understand how Australian news media covered COVID-19 over the course of 2020.
The authors shared in a piece for The Conversation that their major finding might have surprised those who assumed sensational and irresponsible journalism generally dominated media reporting. Largely what dominated was information. Their research found that the media played a “civic” and “loyal facilitator” role in informing and encouraging people to be part of a common push to keep their community safe.
In a separate blog on the research, Professor Kerry McCallum wrote that rather than actively seeking out news, people are getting their information from social media and this is where they are most likely to experience misinformation.
As Professor McCallum surmised, the pandemic disrupted both news consumption and production in 2020. However, this disruption remains, and consequently it continues to be a challenging environment for journalists and the media outlets they work for.
Imagine living out your profession in a “fragile state” and having friends and family argue with you on a topic you’ve spent countless months researching because of a contracting post that’s gone viral on social media.
Imagine having studied at university to get your degree and landing your dream job, only to have it threatened with job losses and press freedom limitations and the bombardment of misinformation and fake news.
So the next time we click on a story, flick on the television news or read a magazine, let’s take a moment to remember the people who are responsible for it. The journalists who work overtime in a crisis to inform, entertain and inspire us in an increasingly challenging industry.
To journalists, we thank you for the valuable work you do. Know that your work isn’t lost on many of us, and we appreciate the effort you go to to keep us connected to the world.
Helen Brown, head of editorial at Readly
