Making the Case for Journalism in an Online World

By Steve Byers

Philip Meyer — the guru of precision journalism — gave a talk in October to an Austrian conference. I was derelict in my duty, so I just got around to reading it. Not only should I have read it last fall, but I should have made it required reading for my classes. It’s published by Nieman Reports, and you should read it, too.

Meyer links two major strands of journalism: the precision journalism field in which he was so important and narrative journalism, the field of Gay Talese and Truman Capote and Mike Royko and Jim Stingl. And, I would add, so many digital storytellers today.

Journalism feeds on facts, and the Internet culture makes facts available to us in such a stream that the need for journalism — for mediation — is more important than ever. As Meyer said, “Instead of replacing journalism, the Internet is creating a new market need: for synthesis and interpretation of the ever-increasing stream of facts.”

A Front Row Seat for New York Fashion Week

By Crystal Schreiner 

Chris Benz showcasing his next line at the Lincoln Center during New York Fashion Week. Photo: Crystal Schreiner.

My last semester of my senior year has finally arrived. I’m one class short of my actual degree in advertising and trying to juggle school while managing my roller-coaster life outside of the classroom. Between running a lucrative start-up business called GoGeddit.com with other Marquette alumni, freelancing to build my portfolio and working in Marquette’s Student Media Department, it’s been crazy.

It’s been sleepless. It’s been a challenge. But it has also led to amazing opportunities.

Growing up next to a beautiful sheep farm in a small town called Athens, Wisconsin, with a mere 1,000 people and no stoplights never stopped me from trying for my goal in life to be big, bold and over-the-top. I’ve always had a dreamy image in my head when trying to imagine what gigantic cities were like, and especially when picturing what the nation’s competitive capital, NYC, was like. I was so intrigued at the thought of skyscrapers and city lights painting the sky. And I now know that with hard work and persistence, anyone can find his or her way to New York if so desired.

The rule of the game is as follows: first, find a passion. Then live it, breath it, and carry it with you everywhere you go. Sooner or later, you’ll find yourself standing in the middle of Times Square with a little tear of happiness in your eye.

I’ll never forget that moment.

What is this passion of mine? Fashion photography.

Journalism and Ethics in India

By Steve Byers

I recently spent a couple of weeks teaching a Marquette University Diederich College of Communication-sponsored journalism workshop in Ahmadabad, India, so I was struck by this story from Bloomberg View concerning journalism at the two top —and growing —print newspapers in India. Together they sell more than five million newspapers a day.

Basically, the story attacks the journalism of the two, the Times of India and the Hindu, finding it lacking in much of the basic integrity as well as professionalism seen in journalism around the world.  I talked with executives from the Times of India, and both in informal and formal speeches they echoed some of the concerns about how journalism is practiced in their country.

Further, Father Vincent Braganza, head of St. Xavier’s College, which promoted the workshop we taught, was quite open in his disappointment concerning journalism in India, which he said was shallow, lacking in ethics and rife with errors — all elements of the Bloomberg story.

My view after reading the Indian papers for two weeks, is that the criticism is quite true. The Times of India would be considered sensationalist by American standards. Word choice is atrocious, and errors are common. Frankly, the Hindu is dull.

Father Braganza’s solution is the teaching of journalism, which is rare in that country. Only a handful of journalism programs exist, he said, with most journalists trained in English departments. Father Braganza says that means they lack grounding in ethics and philosophy. That would explain the shortcomings seen in the Bloomberg piece. Despite growing sales, that lack of professionalism bodes ill for India’s future.

Steve Byers is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism at Marquette University’s Diederich College of Communication.