Can journalists fight hatred? :: Kenya

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She was threatened by unflattering stories, her tires were cut off and her car was destroyed.

The paper was irreproachable

"There have always been people who hate journalists – we tell stories that people do not want to tell, we sometimes show up in chaotic, hard times, and people get angry, but there are some something that has changed, fundamentally quirky, "says Tomlin," whether it's rhetoric or whether it's division in our politics. "

It is undeniable that some supporters, led by the president and helped by influential voices on Fox News and extreme sites, have orchestrated attacks on the press to discredit reports that challenge their political agendas or denounce misdeeds .

There is nothing to indicate that President Trump's verbal insult inspired Jarrod Ramos to burst into the Capital Gazette and kill five employees, years after that one. Judge dismissed his libel lawsuit because the article published was factual. .

But there is a frightening line of demarcation between the president's anger and that of the shooter on the mediocre coverage of a special advocate's investigation or a harbadment conviction, even when the reports are accurate – and they are not alone.

Too many Americans do not appreciate that it is the job of journalism to tell truths even when they are uncomfortable, and that without a free press, it does not can be a healthy democracy.

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Dubbing the reporters of "the most dishonest people" and exhorting them to make fun of them was a familiar part of Donald Trump's screenplay. It has annoyed crowds that have become threatening for the press, sometimes even physical.

An annoying t-shirt sold during his rallies evoked the lynching: "Journalist, Rope, Tree." It's no surprise that journalists turned to social media after the Annapolis shootout. in the desperation that anti-media rhetoric poisons the country against us.
Peter Sterne, editor-in-chief of the US Press Freedom Tracker, a joint initiative of two dozen press freedom groups, said that most of the violence against journalists was perpetrated by protesters. by stories that the attackers did not like.

What is so scary about the Annapolis attack is that even after a judge ruled that the diary was flawless because the story of it was true, Ramos killed people "for writing about him in a way that he did not like". I said.

Apart from the extreme cases of armed or disturbed critics, can journalists counter the poisoned rhetoric and regain the respect of those who do not understand our work? It begins by explaining our values ​​and what we do. For people who tell stories, we do not always tell our own story very well.

Journalists shine

"Our role as public servants is not clear to our communities, our motives and mission are poorly understood, our ethics are not transparent," said Joy Mayer, founder of Trusting News , a project that studies newsroom strategies to explain what we do and engage with the audience, said in an interview.

"Across the entire industry, we need to better explain our work, demonstrate our credibility and actively gain trust," writes Mayer, an adjunct faculty at Poynter, as a result of Annapolis.

"Community newsrooms need to tell a coherent and repetitive story about what drives our work, the range of information and stories we offer, what sets us apart, who we are, how we operate and how people can reach us. Telling this story should be a constant beating – part of the pace of our work. "

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Digital disruption

She is right. Local journalists such as Capital Gazette discuss school board meetings, tax issues, municipal debates, public health and safety, sports – everyday issues of interest to everyone .

Civic leaders, educators, clergy and others must remind journalists that journalists are members of our communities and not "enemies of the people", as Mike Wilson has done in a chronicle from 19459008.

Journalists highlight what works and what does not work, allow residents to express themselves and hold government accountable.

A recent 10-year Notre Dame study found that in American communities where local newspapers were closed due to digital disruption and declining revenues, local government costs were increasing.

There is a straight line between our ability to hold the government powerful, accountable and clean and efficient.

A journalist from the newspaper Hartford Courant named Nyssa Kruse did a great job on Twitter after Annapolis explained what local journalists do – often for low wages, long hours and poor job security.

She cited stories that she and her colleagues have covered in recent weeks: graduations and restaurant openings, excessive public spending, zoning meetings and a homicide.

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"This is also not altruistic because we are members of the communities we cover.We are behind you at the grocery store, next to you in the bench, in front of you in the stands at "We're just normal people, and the news is as important to us as we are," wrote Kruse.

Steve Gunn, a former editor of Capital Gazette Communications, was too sorry to think about "the debate about the president or the value of journalism. All I know is that five very good people have died … They came to work every day to serve their community. "

Everyone in our communities needs to know that.

This article was published for the first time on www.poynter.org. The author is the Newmark Chair in Journalism Ethics at Poynter and a Boston Globe columnist. She has covered shots, campaigns and revolutions in 80 countries and the United States for the Globe, Bloomberg, the International New York Times, NPR, PBS and Politico Magazine