Journalism is a force behind the scenes that can determine how we view certain situations, people, and organizations, but as the world continues to move forward and change should journalism change with it. Laura Davis, a journalism professor, writes “As has been true for many years now, the best thing journalists can do is look around them and adapt instead of fighting for the status quo.” However, what is the status quo and how should journalism adapt and change? Laura explains that if journalism is to survive it must become context driven. Okay, but what does context driven mean and is it better for journalism to be context driven?
Context driven is a methodological school of thought. To put it simply, context driven is about solving problems. It is the ability to adapt to problems and continue to solve them as the problems change. Therefore, for one to be context driven in journalism means one must expound on this core idea. Context driven journalism uses facts, data, analysis, and things of that sort to build a case and come to a sound conclusion based on those facts. The context is the data/facts and should be the basis of all claims made by the journalist. In short, context driven journalism is a great idea, but why is it being brought up now?
The reasoning behind Professor Davis proposing the idea of context driven journalism is because of journalist allowing the status quo to take place in the practice of journalism. Unfortunately, for many, the status quo has become agenda driven, not fact driven. Ultimately, journalism has become a tool to help drive a narrative, and not necessarily the facts. Following the agenda driven status quo is the greatest problem facing journalism today and if it is to survive it must change and adapt.
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