Why I believe in journalism*: Bethea edition
*Thoughts from the people who make it.
A note from your Chills editor: As I navigate my way through my third decade in journalism, I — like all journalists — am faced with a lack of trust in general of the media. Oftentimes, it feels like mistrust is the default. Which, actually, can be valuable. Journalism relies on readers, listeners and viewers to choose what they consume, who they see as giving accurate and fair information. These choices can tell us what we’re doing well, or not.
From within the industry, we can often miss signs that we are failing the public. But that kind of failure is equally — and hopefully even more so — balanced out by the amount of good the press does in the world. That’s really the point: media is meant to hold power to account.
I’ve asked a bunch of journalists I admire to share why they believe in journalism, even with all its 21st-century pitfalls and complications. I hope their words will be of use to you.
A less discussed reason to believe in journalism
By Charles Bethea
Charles Bethea has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2018. He lives in Atlanta and tends to write about politics, adventure and true crime in the broader south. You can find his latest stories on Twitter: @charlesbethea.
A lot of journalists will tell you that they believe in journalism because of the ways they’ve seen it improve the world around them by exposing societal wrongs. It can and often does do that. But I won’t toss off that old chestnut.
Here’s a less discussed, maybe more debatable reason to believe in journalism: It makes us, the journalists, into better people. I’m not kidding. Of course, I know that journalists can be transactional and duplicitous — like the rest of our species — though I think those traits typically predate becoming a journalist. I’m talking about the way that good journalism necessitates and nurtures curiosity, critical thinking, even-handedness and — thanks to the generally crappy pay! — frugality. All of this, in turn, benefits the reader, as our work comes from a more decent place.
I’m also talking about how it gives introverted people, maybe detached people, certainly shy people, the permission to enter the fray in every possible way. That’s been my experience as a reporter. I’m still surprised to see myself doing things, in the name of journalism — in the name of getting the story — that my citizen self probably wouldn’t do.
Whether it’s getting on the phone with Lin Wood, diving into sharky waters with Kyle Korver, or reporting on a brewery run by rival active gang members, being a journalist has brought me into the world in a deeper, stranger and more connected way. I think that what Mark Twain said about travel is also ultimately true of being a serious journalist: It’s “fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.”
the Lin Wood story is very good, it's very much what I want from journalists. I think it was hard for Eric to listen to someone with views he disagreed with, yet still capture the spirit of their character and perhaps their strengths? I think a great journalist is an articulate messenger who explains the things we wouldn't otherwise understand - without revealing the bias that they (and we) all have.
Never considered how different personalities are drawn to journalism - shy, introverted, and detached aren't what would have come to mind immediately. Probably the opposite of all three to be honest. But I love his quote of Twain. I taught Mark Twain and had his quotes everywhere. Favorite - "Classic. A book which people praise and don't read."