Good journalism is about good evidence. But it can get ugly in a room of reporters if anyone suggests that they are writing with an agenda.
But according to leading Australian journalist Paul Barry, the most effective way to engage with audiences is to use evidence-based journalism which can sometimes be seen as setting an agenda.
Barry says journalists have a responsibility as the 4th Estate to represent the interests of ‘the people’ and therefore their ‘agenda’ to really support people by keeping them informed and holding powerful bodies to scrutiny.
Barry is the host of the ABC’s long-running news watchdog, Media Watch.
His role is to be the watchdog of news media outlets which have suffered outbreaks of mistruths, exaggeration, and outright lies, often in the battle for clicks and ratings.
Barry believes there is an honest place for agenda in journalism, as long as it is evidence-based and delivered in good faith.
Media Watch does have its detractors such as the outspoken Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt.
Bolt has been quoted previously saying “the ABC’s Media Watch is so biased that far from exposing deceit and misrepresentation, it is guilty of both.”
That Barry’s role is “to mock and not to disprove,” Bolt said.
However, Barry would disagree with Bolt’s assertion that mocking or entertainment can’t provide serious messaging.
Barry says mocking, satire, and entertainment are most potent weapon in the battle for the attention and audience retention.
In 2015 a poll by Forbes showed 64 percent of people had heard of leading satire program The Daily Show and 16 percent considered it a trusted news source about the government and politics.
In the same survey The Economist and Bloomberg only managed trust levels of 12 and 11 percent respectively.
Trust in an increasingly divided news landscape.
A media outlet’s reputation matters.
Low trust in the media can cause societal polarisation, erode civic engagement, and potentially stimulate civic unrest.
This was seen recently when bad faith reporting on the US 2020 election led to an attack on the capitol building in Washington, DC.
According to a 2019 study of satire in the news published in SAGE journalism “results indicate that the use of satire may present some risks for a news outlet in terms of undermining reader trust,”
But, satire can provide a cushion of acceptance for hard ideas.
“satire can be understood as a discursive practice that challenges an existing political or social order in a playful fashion,” The SAGE study also says.
A striking example of an idea best represented outside of traditional reporting is this image of John Oliver hosting a “balanced debate” on climate change based on scientific consensus.
Still from Last Week Tonight, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjuGCJJUGsg (4:26)
“It is worth noting that one benefit of satire is the ability to attract attention through means of novelty, pleasure, and surprise,” according to the SAGE study.
In the age of clickbait and “fake news” how do you break through?
Opinion news programs, like Andrew Bolt’s The Bolt Report, are not beholden to the rigours of news reporting or factual necessity.
Though wildly popular, and often driving public discourse, opinion news programs also use the entertainment model to drive home their points.
Opinion programs present as news, borrowing credibility from their news outlet hosts, presenting bad faith journalism.
Fox News’ most influential host, Tucker Carlson, is the current and undisputed king of opinion news programming in the United States.
Carlson maintains high viewing numbers and audience trust even after U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil ruled opinions expressed on Tucker Carlson Tonight could reasonably not be taken literally.
“The “‘general tenor’ of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not ‘stating actual facts’ about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in ‘exaggeration’ and ‘non-literal commentary.” Judge Vyskocil said.
Carlson and Bolt both engage in bad faith news reporting presenting no credible evidence for inflammatory and decisive statements.
But like Media watch it is the opinions and agendas that make these shows a prime source of entertainment.
“You can’t present Media Watch, or make a program like media watch without having a point of view,” Barry said.
Barry’s agenda is to highlight the faults presented by news media and entertainment, satire, and mocking is paramount to breaking through to viewers.
“If no one’s listening you’re not communicating” Barry said.
While SAGE says you are giving up a degree of integrity as a journalist to start being entertaining.
What matters is whether or not the opinion comes before or after you have built your story that makes for good journalism.
