Old Journalism

Those of us who have been reading newspapers for the last 30 years have noted a dramatic decline in the breadth and quality of what is presented there. Over time we have looked for and found other sources of information. Now we are starting to present this information ourselves. And while we may be amateurs, many bloggers are experts in their field.

Now comes confirmation of this from an unlikely source, The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism's Dean Nicholas Lemann, who is offering a new course at the bastion of old journalism, described by Hugh Hewitt:

Lemann's hope for this course is to cultivate in his students a capacity to discover and analyze data. He repeatedly uses the term "power skills," and he has in mind a deeper appreciation, and use, of more sophisticated research and analytical skills than most journalists bring to the table. "Regression analysis is the best example," he tells me. "Every social science study in the United States depends upon regression analysis, but almost no reporters understand it. You can't read and understand these studies if you don't know how regression analysis works. I taught myself how to do it, and we are going to teach the M.A. students, equipping them to go beyond their ordinary reliance on dueling experts interpreting studies."

That, in a nutshell, is Lemann's grand plan for salvaging the profession: Teaching reporters new skills that will make them more competent amateurs in the worlds of other professionals.

Hewitt goes on to say:

Every conversation with one of the old guard citing the old proof texts comes down to this point: There is too much expertise, all of it almost instantly available now, for the traditional idea of journalism to last much longer. In the past, almost every bit of information was difficult and expensive to acquire and was therefore mediated by journalists whom readers and viewers were usually in no position to second-guess. Authority has drained from journalism for a reason. Too many of its practitioners have been easily exposed as poseurs.

Mark Tapscott adds that it is intellectual laziness and lack of independence in the newsroom, based on the classic journalism of anecdote and selective quotation, and advocates for "objective data driven analytical reporting":

in which the claims of all participants in the public policy debate, including those of government officials, think tank analysts and non-profit community advocates, are subjected to a trial-by-statistical fire.

After suffering some city and community newspapers, where letters to the editor are often the only source of news and debate, I would welcome the change, but am not particulary hopeful.