When does compelling journalism become advocacy? Three experts weigh-in

... what separates journalism from advocacy is that journalism is fact-based. Journalism rests on a firm foundation of data. Those facts and that data may not take you where you want to go.”

Kathy Best, director, Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland

“Impact” is what all journalists hope for their work — that it will be consequential and inspire change. It may be as simple as a better-informed audience or as complex as a change in public policy. But at what point does a quest for impact cross the line from effective journalism to advocacy? E&P asked the question of three ethics experts.

Kathy Best, director, Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland:

“Part of my job is offering scholarships to graduate students interested in investigative reporting, and so as I go through the graduate student applications we get. … Part of the application process is to write a personal statement about why they want to get a master’s degree in journalism. In some of those statements, it’s really clear from what they write that they’re more interested in advocacy than in journalism,” Best said.  

“I ask them directly, ‘What is motivating you?’ They often say they want to make a difference in the world, and we talk about how you can do that as a journalist. However, what separates journalism from advocacy is that journalism is fact-based. Journalism rests on a firm foundation of data. Those facts and that data may not take you where you want to go,” Best explained. “It doesn't mean you can’t write stories about topics you’re interested in, like climate change or racial disparities. You can do those things, but you do them from the point of view of fact-based reporting, and you may not end up in a place where your personal feelings would take you.”

Rod Hicks, director of diversity and ethics, Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ):

Rod Hicks, director of diversity and ethics, Society of Professional Journalists. (Photo credit: Velvet S. McNeil)

“Journalists  — as well as the audiences they produce stories for — need to understand the difference between advocating for something and just trying to inform or explain something. If you are pushing an agenda, the public needs to understand that,” Hicks said.

“I want to point out that SPJ’s Code of Ethics does not view opinion or advocacy journalism as inherently unethical. It can be ethical and should be ethical, following all of the guidelines we outline at SPJ — accuracy, fairness, avoiding conflicts and acting independently. All of those should still be applied to commentary, advocacy or other types of information you want to be considered journalism. ... I think advocacy journalism is going to become more prevalent. One reason is that people like it. I'm generalizing here, but many people want to see information that confirms what they already believe,” Hicks said, citing Fox News and MSNBC as examples. “I think the market is going to respond and give them more of what they want.”

Joe Hight, Edith Kinney Gaylord Endowed Chair of Journalism Ethics, Department of Mass Communications, University of Central Oklahoma:

“Our mass communication program has media ethics as a core curriculum in both professional media and strategic communication. … For our strategic communications graduates, they may ultimately advocate for their clients — what the goals of that client are — in contrast to a journalist, who is not an advocate,” Hight said, stressing that each discipline should adhere to ethical standards. “I think that’s something that needs to be stressed: Ethics positively impacts your credibility, your brand and who you really want to be. Ethics is an important part of who you are.”

“When you do good journalistic work, good data journalism, for example, and when you tell stories that compel people to act, that has impact,” Hight added. “That doesn’t mean you have to be an advocate for an organization. It means your stories are ones that people see as credible and compelling enough that they act because of it. I think journalistic organizations that consider social issues important — criminal justice issues, things like that. Those types of stories should have an impact.”

Gretchen A. Peck is a contributing editor to Editor & Publisher. She's reported for E&P since 2010 and welcomes comments at gretchenapeck@gmail.com.