The Purpose of Journalism

The purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with information to be an active member of the society and the world. Citizens of the informed public are given the opportunity to understand their country, the issues that face their fellow people and how they can act to improve their lives. Additionally, journalism allows citizens to understand the changes throughout the world, whether there are government changes, wars, or entertainment news.

Governments play a role in journalism within their respective countries. In more authoritarian countries, governments are be more concerned with broadcast media than print media. Radio and TV are instant forms of communication. Radio hosts and TV newscasters can say whatever is on their mind and potentially millions of people could hear it. If authoritarian governments hear a radio host or TV newscaster speak out against their power, they can censor them after the broadcast, however many people have already heard the message. Additionally, radio and TV are more emotive, which can be more dangerous to to authoritarian governments. You can hear passion in people’s voices over the radio and can see moving pictures over videos over the television. These images and sounds can inspire people to take action against their government. Further, broadcast media reaches out to those who are illiterate. In a time with just print media, the literate citizens were the only individuals who could be informed citizens.

Broadcast media also allows citizens to pick up signals from neighboring countries. In Yemen, citizens can pick up broadcasts from Saudi Arabia and Oman and potentially hear stories and events that are not provided to Yemenis from their domestic news sources (Yemen Media Landscape).

With the rise of broadcast journalism and citizens having the ability to pick up signals from outside their own country, people started hearing information that they never would have heard before. Al Jazeera came in and told people what governments wouldn’t, and it inspired some people into action (Lynch). Al Jazeera allowed journalist from the Middle East to write stories about their own lives, cultures and governments and not depend on foreign news sources. Al Jazeera was not a spokesperson for the governments in the region – it allowed citizens of the Middle East to hear opinions that potentially could critique the governments (Lust).

The Arab uprisings in 2011 showed what a large role broadcast media and the internet could play in inspiring citizens to act out against their authoritarian governments. Technology allowed people to hear information that the government could not control and additionally, reaching people that before had not been active citizens (Lust). Al Jazeera allowed citizens who were actively participating in the protests to send in their videos to be then shared throughout the country, the region, and further the entire world, as opposed to before, when the governments would only share news that they wanted the world to hear (Lust).

“Citizen journalism, in-country networks, and transnational networks themselves later became ways through which the internet and mobile phones could be used to coordinate public action on the street” (Lust, 286). Egypt used these networks and mobile phones to inform and rally people to the protests to fight against the regime.

“Journalism is the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information” (American Press Institute). Mass media outlets provide citizens with the events happening in the world, but also have the potential to inspire a movement. Questions arise when thinking does mass media portray the reality, or just what governments want their citizens to hear? Specifically in the Middle East, with the advent of Al Jazeera and technological developments such as the internet and social media that allow journalism to be a larger representation of the people, a new active public sphere as emerged (Hafez). Journalism provides a space (while in some cases still heavily regulated) for people to share their stories, have debates and discuss topics that could never have been discussed before.

Sources:
Lynch, Marc. 2007. Voices of the New Arab Public: Iraq, al-Jazeera, and Middle East Politics Today. New York: Columbia University Press

Hafez, Kai (editor). 2008. Arab Media: Power and Weakness New York: Continuum

Lust, Ellen (editor). 2016. The Middle East, 14th Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press.