Pope Francis’ reflections on journalism
Excerpt from an address to journalists delivered by Pope Francis
on Nov. 11:
“Journalism does not come about by choosing a profession, but by embarking on a mission, a little like a doctor who studies and works so that the evil in the world may be healed. Your mission is to explain the world, to make it less obscure, to make those who live in it less afraid of it and look at others with greater awareness, and also with more confidence. It is not an easy mission. It is complicated to think, to meditate, to study more deeply, to stop and collect ideas and to study the contexts and precedents of a piece of news. The risk, as you well know, is to be overwhelmed by the news instead of being able to make sense of it. This is why I encourage you to preserve and cultivate that sense of mission that is at the origin of your choice. And I will do so with three verbs that I believe characterize good journalism: listen, investigate and report.
“For journalists, listening means having the patience to meet face to face with the people to be interviewed, the protagonists of the stories being told, the sources from which to receive news. … Listening always goes hand in hand with seeing, with being present: certain nuances, sensations, and well-rounded descriptions can only be conveyed to readers, listeners and spectators if the journalist has listened and seen for him- or herself.”
Later in his address he said, “I also thank you for what you tell us about what goes wrong in the Church, for helping us not to sweep it under the carpet, and for the voice you have given to the victims of abuse: thank you for this.”
The complete address can be accessed at https://www.vatican.va/.
Biden’s social spending bill includes support for local journalism
The Associated Press has reported a section of President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion social spending bill focuses on growing concerns over declining local news outlets.
The legislation would create a payroll tax credit for companies employing local journalists.
Gannett (formerly GateHouse) owns the Peoria Journal Star and is one of the largest chains in the country. Under this legislation, it could gain $127.5 million over five years through this payroll credit.
The AP article concludes: The provision put in place guardrails to try to keep money from going to partisan sites that masquerade as local news or fake-news operations while casting a broad net about which organizations are considered legitimate local news outlets, whether they are hedge fund-owned chains, nonprofit, print, digital, radio or TV.
“This isn’t the government deciding who gets it and who doesn’t get it,” said Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild, a union that represents journalists, including those at the AP. “Are you employing local journalists? If so, here’s a tax credit. It’s really helpful because it is targeted to where we’ve lost so many journalists over the past decade and that’s in the local.”