Tools change, the rules do not

Originally posted to www.press.org July 10, 2011

People often ask me about change in the journalism industry. There’s no denying that change is the constant. Professionals and organizations are challenged to embrace it.
Thinking about how things were at my first job at a radio station in Coffeyville, Kansas drives that point home. We had no computers, only manual typewriters, analog telephones with dials, reel-to-reel and cassette tape recorders and played 33 1/3 and 45 rpm records for music on-air. All machinery that is obsolete today. Good work was done there, but with different tools, adhering to core principles of news gathering, which remain just as relevant now.

Today, we have social networking, video editing and audio recording on laptops with mobile phones and Internet access that link us to newsrooms. Whereas employment in the news business seemed secure years ago, that too has been turned upside down by the digital shift and other catalysts.
Lifestyles have changed too. Colleagues are focused on fitness, most don’t smoke and many are raising families in households where both spouses work. The 24/7 news cycle has also changed things tremendously, with consumers wanting updates on demand and journalists under stress to meet that need. Where some of our predecessors could mark time with the luxury of a far-off deadline, those days are largely gone.

What hasn’t changed? Core values of the journalism industry are intact, reflected in the excellent array of work seen in this year’s National Press Club awards, just announced.
For our members, it is worth remembering that our reputation as an organization is also strong beyond the Beltway, across the nation and around the globe. As just one demonstration of that, it was a great thrill calling some of our award winners, telling them that they’d won and hearing their happy reactions. I also see this reputation reflected when people from other states and countries visit the NPC, or when other clubs seek reciprocal arrangements with us.

When someone does suggest that technology has changed the rules of good reporting, I’d tell them that whether you are writing for the Internet, for television or radio, or for Twitter, the same time-tested framework still applies. Strive mightily to keep personal bias or commercial interest from affecting the work. We must treat the end user (readers, viewers, listeners, etc.) with respect. And remember that it isn’t an accident that freedom of the press is protected by the First Amendment. There’s information that people absolutely need to know, and there are things that they want to know.
Without an engaged and vibrant news media, however it is comprised across many media and forms, there is high risk that governments run unchecked. Unfortunately we’ve seen all too often how tyrannical leaders seek to hobble reporters when those authorities want to unreasonably perpetuate their own power, at the expense of others.

We can adapt to the changes, while remembering that tradition in our Club and in our industry is important. Through all of the shifts, great work abounds in our profession. I hope you’ll join in celebrating the best of journalism when we hold our NPC awards dinner on Aug. 10 and our Fourth Estate Award, honoring Jim Lehrer on Oct. 28.