DP#3: The role of a development journalism
As a journalist, I always try to ask to myself, which should be the role of communicators in achieving the developing process of their country? Sometimes, I really get stuck and frustrated when I see that journalists from Peru and all around the world do not seem to share the same goals or give equal value to the profession.
Nowadays with the advent of blogs and social networks (like Facebook or Twitter) everyone can be a journalist (just have to start publishing). With this scenario, something contradictory seems to happen: many times people find that the most prominent and interesting news and opinions are found in the social networks, while in the daily and printing newspapers we could only get gossips and great trivialization of the news. This is the only alternative from the oldest newspapers to catch attention of lost and confused readers?
So my profession is on a real risk? Something in my mind tells me not. I really have to convince to myself that today there is a huge challenge for journalists who dedicate to write about development topics. As Julian Parr said in the Skype conference we had in class, the most important challenge “is to convince editors that news about environment and sustainability issues can be (if journalists effort themselves) more powerful, convincing and attractive than gossips news”.
Of course, the choice for this kind of journalism is to appeal to creativity, viralization and use as many communications tools as possible, like doing BTL social media, social mobilization, lead environmental communications campaigns, and so on.
Lead a journalism campaign
And what is development journalism?
Taking into account the ideas mentioned above, I would like to refer to an interesting article from The Guardian named “What is development journalism?”[1]. In the report Sue George, the author, asks: “development journalism is more than investigative journalism in a poor country?”. The question really called my attention, so then I found a quote mentioned by Liz Ford, editor of the Katine website (site for the Guardian’s Ugandan development project), who ensures “that development journalism means getting behind the cliches of starving children and getting people to tell their own stories”.
I working in Cusco (july 2011)
Another idea that impressed me is that development journalism is not making people into victims by treating them without dignity or sensationalizing their lives. “This usually comes through perceiving them as less important, intelligent or significant than someone in the developed world (…) Development journalism asks questions – of ordinary people, not just of officials. It considers reader, writer and written-about to be equal in their humanity. It doesn’t patronise but asks the reader to put themselves in the place of people whose lives seem very different from theirs”, says the author. Indeed, her ideas are brilliant.
I decided to write about this issue because, seriously, I want to advocate myself to development journalism in my country or abroad. Despite all the challenges and obstacles I can find on the path, that’s my purpose. The reason is simple. Like the article mentions: “Development journalism gives soul to media, it gives it a human face.”
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02 Jan 2012
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Iana Malaga Newton
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