This week is was "brand journalism".
That's what some Public Relations people are now calling their profession.
"Sports journalism" isn't a new phrase, but an event during Saturday's Alabama-LSU game reminded me of how it is truly different from actual journalism. A radio host with obvious sympathies was kicked out of the press box for "excessive cheering". The linked story from "Yahoo Sports" includes this line about the host:
He's the least objective of journalists, but is a popular personality in his home state of Louisiana.In England, by the way, they call it "games journalism"
If you ever have a chance to attend a non-sports news conference, watch the journalists while others in the room are applauding. There's no cheering, much less "excessive" cheering.
Some people call themselves "advocacy journalists", who feel no need to present balanced stories.
The Poynter Institute is a training organization for journalists, and a panelist there last year identified four kinds of journalists, none of them named here.
What got all this started was a series of factors, including the emergence of talk radio in the 80's, shows like Inside Edition, and Infomercials. The new programs created confusion among viewers. Were they entertainment? Commercials? Editorials? News? The audience largely came to see all of the shows as journalism, or at least as "news media", regardless how opinionated they were. Mix in the emergence of consultants who told the radio and TV stations to provide what their research showed the audience wanted, as opposes to needed, and you've arrived in 2012.
I'll stick with that great George Orwell quote:
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