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A 12-step program for journalists

You need to check out Howard Owens’ blog post titled Twelve things journalists can do to save journalism (and not just because one of them is reading Journalism 2.0).

Then you need to forward it to others in your newsroom.

I would add a 13th step: Have fun in your job and let your audience share in it.

I heard that Ira Glass once remarked that journalists were the funniest people he’d ever met. But when you pick up the paper in the morning, you’d never know it. Our journalism should have more humanity in it, and that means humor. Everyone knows that young people are getting their news from John Stewart and Digg, where humor rules the day. And the first rule of communication is to know your audience and know what it wants.

Posted by MarkBriggs on Monday, October 01, 2007
(1) Comments • Permalink

• Mark, I agree. Journalism definitely needs better well-placed humor and humanity. Reporters and editors still need to take subjects seriously when warranted, but if news organizations want to attract younger audiences (a community to which I belong), they need to understand why people watch Jon Stewart.

  Many young adults are growingly cynical when it comes to the news and politics, so the Daily Show and the Colbert Report take an angle they can identify with and find entertaining. Those programs succeed with humor, sarcasm, parody, irreverence and such. They question authority and highlight absurdities. They remove the “filter.” In all, they are fulfilling a journalistic role, all the while providing an enjoyable watching experience for the viewer.

  “Infotainment” is something we as journalists need to avoid, but that doesn’t mean news should be drier than a fresh diaper. Let’s not be afraid to soil ourselves from time to time, as long as we keep our reputations clean.

  Posted by greglinch  on  12/17  at  12:18 AM

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