CIVIC JOURNALISM: HOW THE MEDIA COVERS ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
USIA
USIS Washington File
21 January 1998
CIVIC JOURNALISM: HOW THE MEDIA COVERS ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
(Goal is to promote public participation) (1170)
By Lauren Monsen
USIA Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- The growing trend toward voter apathy and disgust with
politics often has a corrosive effect on democracy, say two
distinguished journalists who met to discuss the role of civic
journalism in a free society.
Appearing in a Jan. 20 Worldnet-TV program broadcast to San Jose,
Costa Rica, Ed Fouhy of The Pew Center for Civic Journalism and Ellen
Hume, a reporter for the Public Broadcasting Service, offered their
views on the media's responsibilities and obligations in covering the
political process.
Popular indifference to civic involvement is particularly worrisome,
they agreed. During election campaigns, Fouhy said, "one reason for
voter apathy ... is that people are relatively content." Also, he
suggested, there is a widespread perception that voting is a
"superficial" activity, with no real capacity to implement change.
Politicians themselves are sometimes guilty of fostering this
impression, he remarked. "Negative television ads drive down voter
participation," Fouhy pointed out. "The role of the press, while
central, is only one factor" in rebuilding trust between citizens and
government.
"There's a proper role for politicians; there's a proper role for
journalists," Hume countered. "What we're striving for, I think, are
several things: one is to be sure the right questions are asked [of
political candidates] -- 'what are your plans, and what do you have to
show us from your own history.'"
Most important to civic journalism, she stressed, is "asking the right
questions with the citizen in mind." Both reporters observed that
voters feel disenfranchised and removed from the political process if
government doesn't address their specific concerns -- but in many
ways, they felt, voters are better positioned than the media to demand
accountability from their elected leaders.
This is because, they explained, politicians are used to jousting with
the press, to "bobbing and weaving," whereas it is usually much harder
for candidates to dodge questions from ordinary citizens in the
context of a town hall meeting or other public forum. Town hall
meetings are especially useful, Fouhy argued, as a means of engaging
the voter.
"It is very difficult to break through a well-financed advertising
campaign," he commented. "When citizens are invited to discuss their
concerns, this can be good television and very good for democracy."
These days, Fouhy admitted, "negative television advertising has
unfortunately become the dominant element" in a campaign.
He echoed Hume's insistence on "coverage of what is on the citizen's
agenda," reminding his colleagues that this "requires an effort to
ascertain what issues the citizens are interested in." At this point
Hume raised the topic of advocacy, warning that journalists, as
professionals, must guard against allowing their opinions to intrude
into their reports.
The media doesn't tell people who to vote for, she said, but "we're
helping them to understand what their options are, and why they have a
stake" in elections. "A fair, balanced presentation" is the goal, Hume
avowed.
"People have a very skeptical view of journalists," Fouhy interjected.
Most believe that the press is preoccupied with television ratings or
newspaper circulation, he added, "and what is driving this particular
idea is that some television stations have drifted away from the local
community ... the journalists often have no roots in the community."
This, he maintained, is a "destructive" tendency, severing the ties
that ought to exist between a local media outlet and the people it
serves.
In addition, Fouhy said, he hears complaints from politicians that the
press "is less interested in policy questions, and more interested in
scandal." Hume, who is married to a government official, allowed that
she "certainly understands" politicians' frustrations with the media.
Yet "civic journalism tries to change that formula" of
journalism-as-entertainment, she declared, and instead gives people
information that is useful to them. The role of reporters, Hume said,
is "to be honest brokers, to be witnesses, to be
information-purveyors" who do not compromise their independence.
The journalist's role of honest broker "has been quite effective in
the United States," Fouhy concurred. Problems arise, he stated, when
that role is not strictly adhered to. "Certain functions of political
parties have been thrust onto the [American] press, and the press is
not equipped to handle those functions," he said. "For example, the
press is sometimes required to determine which candidates are
'serious,' and that's a dangerous role for the press -- one which it's
not really comfortable with."
Because of the freedoms enjoyed in the U.S., he concluded,
"journalists here are often reminded that, as Winston Churchill once
said, 'democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the
others.'"
Describing the adversarial relationship that can develop between the
press and its political quarry, Hume said, "I do think in many ways
the campaigns are phony; they're media images" that provoke
journalists into being "combative."
Politicians generally prefer "canned ads where they can control the
image and the message," she continued, and these manipulative
techniques are intended "to push emotional buttons" in voters. In
response, Hume advised, the media should pressure the candidates to
debate "and get mad when they don't."
Fouhy raised the question of whether debate serves a useful purpose --
"and if it's a senseless rite, then democracy's in trouble," he said.
"The key to fighting voter apathy isn't journalists talking to
politicians, but rather, journalists helping citizens to talk to
politicians."
This is perhaps one of the most indispensable functions of civic
journalism, he submitted. "Inviting the voter into the dialogue" is
crucial, Fouhy claimed, because "when voters feel that they are left
out," apathy proliferates.
Hume also endorsed the journalist-as-mediator concept, but she
conceded that in the United States, there was some suspicion that
reporters -- many of whom are employed by huge media empires -- could
not always be relied on to challenge vested interests. "The
concentration of political power, the concentration of corporate
ownership, is a big issue" for the media in the U.S., she asserted,
and this conflict-of-interest anxiety helps fuel public alienation
from the political process.
But journalists in the U.S. "hear a lot from the public; it's not a
one-way communication," she said.
"Civic journalism is still evolving," Fouhy affirmed. "It's a
long-term effort." He seemed optimistic that it could play a
constructive role in democracies throughout the Western Hemisphere,
and beyond. "I was very encouraged to see that democracy is on the
move in this hemisphere; every country here [except Cuba] is a
democracy," he noted, "but they're in different stages" of
development.
As to how civic journalism can help people improve their day-to-day
lives, Hume emphasized that "it's terribly important for journalists
to explore a whole range of solutions" to problems -- not to promote
one approach over another, but to examine different options "and give
people a sense of hope" with regard to the choices they face.