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Posted on 10/24/2014 11:23:49 AM PDT by lbryce
The Conversation by Jay Rosen, Associate Professor, Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University
Foundation essay: This article is part of a series marking the launch of The Conversation in the US. Our foundation essays are longer than our usual comment and analysis articles and take a wider look at key issues affecting society.
If extreme polarization is now an enduring feature of American politics — not just a bug — how does that change the game for journalists? I have some ideas, but mainly I want to put that question on the table. “Conflict makes news,” it is often said. But when gridlock becomes the norm the conflicts are endless, infinite, predictable and just plain dull: in a way, the opposite of news. This dynamic has already ruined the Sunday talk shows. Who can stand that spectacle anymore?
A recent task force of American Political Science Association put it this way: The United States used to be viewed as a land of broad consensus and pragmatic politics in which sharp ideological differences were largely absent; yet, today, politics is dominated by intense party polarization and limited agreement among representatives on policy problems and solutions. In a fascinating paper on “philanthropy in a time of polarization,” three authors — Steven Teles, Heather Hurlburt and Mark Schmitt — take up the question. They point out that leaders in these grantmaking foundations operate from assumptions that extreme polarization can be overpowered by “strong ideas and persuasive research…[that] will motivate elected officials” to act. They believe in the message of bipartisanship and urge foundations to “stay above the political fray.”
(Excerpt) Read more at theconversation.com ...
The left confuses the word journalist with the word commentator.
Journalists having (and displaying) a point of view is part of the problem.
“Journalists Need a Point of View if They Want to Stay Relevant.”
WRONG.
Journalilsts are too ego-involved. The LAST thing we need is relevance from journalists. What we need is the news, unadorned by slant.
Journalists should save any ideas about relevance for the Editorial page.
Apparently so.
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