Journalism studies : the need to think about journalists’ thinking
Loading...
Authors
Fourie, Pieter J.
Issue Date
2005
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Journalism , Education , Practical skills , Intellectual skills , Phenomenology , Criticism , Journalistic ideology , Journalistic quality , Media environment
Alternative Title
Abstract
Journalism trainers and educators (with the emphasis on education) should take the
criticism against journalism seriously, including the deep-rooted mistrust of
journalism, and use it as a point of departure in their curriculum development. This
article paraphrases the early criticism against journalism, after which the two main
streams of contemporary criticism, namely critical political economy and
professional criticism are briefly discussed. Pierre Bourdieu’s views about the
structural limitations of journalism and the fact that these limitations are not
questioned by journalists, as well as Kenneth Minogue’s views about journalistic
ideology and how it has become transparent and forms the basis of the public’s
mistrust of the media, are emphasised. Against this background, it is argued that, to
raise the quality of journalism, journalism studies should adopt a more
fundamental approach to the understanding of journalism and the journalist’s work.
Instead of focussing predominantly on professional skills, there is a need for
journalism studies, also in terms of raising its own status as an academic discipline,
to focus more on intellectual skills such as reasoning, argumentation, persuasion
(rhetoric), contextualisation, the skills of historical thinking, description,
interpretation and evaluation. Apart from this, it is argued that South African
journalism studies should also focus on the development of an African
epistemology for the practice and evaluation of journalism in South Africa.
Description
Citation
Fourie, Pieter J. 2005. 'Journalism studies : the need to think about journalists’ thinking.' Ecquid Novi , vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 142-158.
Publisher
University of Wisconsin Press
License
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
0256-0054