Associate Professor & Director, The Irina Project at UNC-Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Gillmor writes in part, "The status quo in political (and related) coverage consists of sporadically noting that gosh-maybe-there’s-a-problem, while sticking mostly to journalistic business as usual. The status quo is journalistic malpractice." We see "gosh-maybe-there's-a-problem" treatment in news coverage of trafficking all the time, though we've described it in slightly different words. It's a kind of wide-eyed, "hey, can you believe there's trafficking going on in this city/town" treatment on repeat. Yes, there is trafficking here, there, everywhere. Better reporting tells audiences what it looks like, what's being done to combat it and by whom/what groups, to what effect, as an example. If you find yourself writing the former kind of story, go deeper. It's not an understatement to say that substantive reporting on human trafficking is a contribution toward the health of a democracy.
Formerly journalist, journalism teacher, more. Now working to help those who are trying to save democracy and, by extension, freedom of expression.
Some changes ahead: I'm leaving academia to "help people who are working to save democracy, and by extension freedom of expression, in part by helping journalism perform its most essential role." More in my new blog post: https://lnkd.in/gx_8Rg-e
