Antinuclear

A top Australian journalist speaks out on “truthiness”, fact checking, and new media

Read all about it: journalism has a future!, The Age, Katharine Murphy, September 3, 2012 If balance is a pillar of the new media then the truth will still win out.  “….I find myself increasingly energised by the fantastic journalism I can now consume online from the best media outlets in the world. The digital bounty has changed my own news consumption habits fundamentally.
These days I hoover up blogs in London, New York and Washington, scour the American political website Politico (one of the great success stories of this period), admire the methodical journalism of ProPublica, watch live politics coverage on The Guardian and The New York Times, and use Twitter as a brilliant aggregator as well as a breaking news channel in its own right……

Modern journalism should be about providing clarity in the clamour. It should champion facts over what the American comedian Stephen Colbert has brilliantly termed ”truthiness” (a statement that feels or rings true, regardless of
the logic or evidence)…..
There’s been an interesting affirmation of core professional values over the past few days in the United States. I’ve been fascinated to watch a fact checking offensive unleashed by the US media covering the presidential campaign.

The trigger was an anti-Obama advertisement from the Romney campaign. This particular ad, a core element of the Republicans’ negative campaign, reportedly contained factual errors.
This problem was called out. The response from Team Romney was not an apology. It was defiance. Romney pollster Neil Newhouse reportedly declared: ”We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by the fact checkers.”...
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/read-all-about-it-journalism-has-a-future-20120902-2588i.html#ixzz25RW49zSx

September 3, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized