I don't think journalism changes. It's about digging into stories and telling them well. The basic tenets of great reporting stay the same while things around it change. Technology has made reporting easier, but it has also caused job loss. Social media has increased discussion around topics, but it has its own challenges at times.
Interpretation
Journalism remains focused on storytelling, regardless of technological changes.
Soledad O'Brien emphasizes that the essence of journalism lies in the commitment to thoroughly investigate and effectively communicate stories. While technology has transformed the landscape of reporting, making some aspects easier, it has also introduced challenges such as job instability and the complexities of social media discourse, reminding us that the core values of good journalism remain constant amid change.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of journalism at a conference.
As CNN saw our growth in African-American viewership, they affirmed a fundamental truth of news coverage - people will watch you if they see themselves in what you report. It doesn't hurt if the people doing the reporting look like them, too.
If an investigative reporter finds out that someone has been robbing the store, that may be 'gotcha' journalism, but it's also good journalism.
Journalism without a moral position is impossible. Every journalist is a moralist. It's absolutely unavoidable.
I take a certain pride in having maintained a reputation for fast copy throughout my newspaper career. Fast-breaking stories left my typewriter in a hurry. Not great literature, perhaps, but fast, and usually accurate.
As I occasionally survey the pack of sycophantic shih tzus in the Washington press corps, wriggling on their bellies to kiss the feet of those in power, I feel plumb discouraged about the future of journalism.
Whenever you're reporting, there's always something you can't say or write, but the questions, you always want to get as close to that line as possible. You want to ask the tough questions.
We have to compete in a universe of 200 networks, so we have to carve out our own niche, and to me, that niche is just basic shoe-leather journalism with some good journalists at the helm you can trust as presenters.
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