Independence From Faction

In class as we were discussing the journalist's responsibility to remain independent from factions, there was one statement that really struck me.

Journalists often appear to come from the "cognitive elite."

It's completely true.
This could be a deterrent for journalists when they try to connect with their audience. They may come across as know-it-alls or living in a higher economic status. However, I think it also gives the public a reason to look up to journalists. Reporters should be respected for the amount of research and learning they must do for each story they produce. Still, the more a journalist appears to come from the "cognitive elite," the more they appear to stereotype themselves as members of that faction.
Factions always have an agenda. It's not always devious our self-serving, but they want to make a difference. For a journalist, it's hard to know where to draw the line concerning activism. It's not wrong to have opinions. In fact, they can't be prevented.
Michael Grunwald of the Washington Post said The Post tries not to practice advocacy in journalism. He said, "My editors never pressured me to hedge any of my findings for the sake of false balance; they just insisted that I stick to facts rather than rhetoric... That doesn't mean we can't make judgments. In The Post, I've written that the Corps is dysfunctional. In my book, I wrote that Everglades restoration is off to a rough start. But those were fact-based judgments that I could back up with documentation." Grunwald lets the facts speak for themselves.

In class, there were four examples listed to show how a journalist can keep independence from those they cover:

• Accuracy. As Reuters says in their journalism handbook, "Accuracy is at the heart of what we do. It is our job to get it first but it is above all our job to get it right"
• Verification.
  
• Serve larger public interest.
• Possess a desire to inform.

Of these examples, I think the most important is to serve larger public interest. It is easy to serve oneself or their employer, but serving people who you've never even met before is very difficult. In some ways, journalism is a calling. It should be treated as a service and responsibility rather than a job.