Changing Hawaii
by Diane Yukihiro Chang
by Diane Yukihiro Chang
The indictments made by the Washington editor of The Atlantic Monthly were relentless:
"Journalism is not a 'profession,' like law or engineering, since true professional status requires fixed standards for admission and mastery over a specialized field of knowledge. Yet many of its members are now paid as professionals are."(True. Maybe journalists should pass some kind of basic spelling, grammar and writing entrance exam - editors might live longer.)
"The media establishment is still in the denial stage. Many of today's journalists are all too aware of the pressures pushing their profession in a direction they don't want to go. But they have not been able to deal with outside complaints honestly enough to begin the process of reform."(True. Since we specialize in conveying facts, perhaps we should start by acknowledging the one called profit motive.)
"The first instinct of many journalists is to cry 'First Amendment!', which is like the military's reflexive use of 'national security' to rebut outside criticism of how it does its work."(Well... all right. Probably true in many cases.)
How demoralizing. It was enough to make me turn in my ballpoint pens and head for the door - permanently.
Then I heard a lecture by national photojournalist Paul Lester, the keynote speaker of the 14th Annual Carol Burnett Fund for Responsible Journalism Ethics Program at the University of Hawaii.
Lester, an associate professor of communications at Cal State-Fullerton, is author of the new book, "Images That Injure: Pictorial Stereotypes in the Media." Oh great, yet another book that bashes the brotherhood, I thought.
But when Lester addressed the crowd at the UH Campus Center Ballroom last Thursday, he made a profound statement that put everything in perspective. Before showing his slide show filled with photographic examples of hurtful stereotypes of ethnicity, gender, age, occupation, body type, etc., he said, "The media stereotype because we stereotype. We are the media."
What a revelation. How can we expect representatives of the press to be perfectly logical, omniscient and unbiased when people are not perfect at all? Journalists must therefore keep striving to be "better" - whatever that means. All we can do is be human.
GOVERNMENT leaders and enforcers might cry, "Foul! Why do reporters and editors ride us hard when WE make mistakes. Why the double standard? We are human, too."
There's a big difference. Journalists don't get paid with taxpayer dollars, don't make the laws and don't uphold them. If you don't like what a member of the media does, you refuse to buy that paper, you tune out that channel. It's called freedom of choice.
When it comes to mandated rules and regulations, however, all of us are forced to obey - unless, of course, we have a particular fondness for prison food.
The enlightening statement by photojournalist Paul Lester helped renew my appetite for food and hunger to report the news. Although my mouth still tastes the humble pie.