The Odd Man Out: Advocacy in Journalism

Blog Post 1

ES 241: Environmental Journalism

“The Odd Man Out: Advocacy in Journalism”

By Brandon Ryan, September 16, 2019

It has become common practice for Journalists to shone the title of advocate as if it were cursed. The word almost becomes insulting as many journalists take it as meaning they are not impartial or they do not report “fairly” (Wyss 2019, 211).  When you take on the responsibility of a journalist, you take on the weight of being impartial, unbiased, and fair in your coverage. If you violate these principles, many of which are not listed, and push a preconceived agenda based on your beliefs, you are labeled an advocate. 

We can see these labels being backed vigorously in countries in which democracy is merely an idea. In many foreign nations, journalists receive acknowledgement if they support the government that is oppressing its people. If you are against the government, you are labeled an advocate in an attempt to delegitimize what you are saying. In essence, an advocate is perceived as someone to avoid at all costs, but this isn’t the only way that advocacy poses a “threat” to the integrity of journalism. 

Why is it a term of shame in the journalism community? If a reporter backs climate change are they an advocate in their reporting even though climate change is undeniable? Advocacy journalism in a sense implies a preconceived activism for a specific cause and can sway a journalists objectivity.  Larry Atkins of the Huffington Post views advocacy journalism as a threat to democracy as it takes fact-checking and reinstitutes bias into people’s writing. Atkins insists “Advocacy journalists do not set out to inform; they set out to advance an agenda, whether it be conservative or liberal” (Atkins 2014). 

Nonprofits fight for funding to stay open, and often in many cases this funding can come from a group that advocates for a specific cause, such as climate change, like journalist Keith Kloor pointed out when a fellow journalists story was funded by a climate activist group. Kloor pointed out that the article made it past multiple editing sessions with a publisher and it was never questions. Scientific American, the publisher responsible for the article assured they “maintained full editorial control over the story.” 

This battle against advocacy often has the opposite effect, as can be seen in the battle between Gov. Jay Inslee and the massive corporation BP. The fight to establish carbon taxes lead to a standoff between strong and passionate environmental advocates and corporate executives set on seeing a profit (Lavelle 2019). Impartiality is nearly impossible to find in similar situations, creating a loaded situation with companies and individuals set on their own agendas, whether it be advocacy or resistance to change, leading to outcomes that benefit no one. 

The question of ‘is advocacy journalism good journalism?’ is a complicated one, and it’s not always what we should focus on. As Michael Frome mentions frequently, a journalist and professor mentioned by Wyss, advocacy journalism might be something we need more of in the future. If the basic pillars of journalism are upheld and stories are truthful and factual to the best of their ability, having a new article written by a journalist who is passionate about the cause might not be the worst thing. Often advocacy is looked at as biased, and while a journalist might be passionate about a specific topic, that does not automatically mean they are going to ignore all sides of an argument. Advocacy journalism is a valuable tool, but its presence must be made clear. It implies bias in reporting, something frowned upon in journalism, and therefore it must be stated outright in order for readers to determine whether or not the source is reliable in their own lives. 

Sources:

Atkins, L. 2014. Advocacy Journalism Is Polarizing Our Country. <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/advocacy-journalism-is-po_b_5526745.> Accessed September 14, 2019. 

Lavelle, M. 2019. How Big Oil Blocked the Nation’s Greenest Governor on Climate Change.<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/10092019/big-oil-money-blocked-jay-inslee-climate-change-policy-carbon-fee-bp-washington.> Accessed September 15, 2019.

Wyss, B. 2019. Covering the Environment: How Journalists Work the Green Beat. Second Edition. Routledge, New York, NY, USA.