The classic questions - who, what, where, when, why and how - are not just there for story structure; they make sure journalists are putting something of true value into the world
When I was a cub reporter who did my training in local newspapers in London, one of the first things I learnt was about accountability reporting. It was about understanding that the journalism I did had consequences and that it affected a community.
When I went to journalism school in Newcastle, we learned about ethics and not forgetting that our storytelling was nothing really without factoring in the human. When I worked in international journalism spaces, that training in community journalism was also a guiding point that I continually went back to to help figure how to be a responsible storyteller. But journalism is changing and much of it is now about clicks and getting eyeballs on words; to get short, sharp takes out and rush to speed, to have a hot take and stand out with sensationalist headlines.
And that’s where we are missing the human. We’re missing the layers of editorial processes, the time to think through what is it we’re actually trying to say and highlight in the name of public interest.
The media industry has always had challenges around race with few senior leaders reaching the higher echelons of decision making powerful positions, and the industry – with its low pay and exploitative practices – might bring people of colour in, but you lose the experience soon enough.
I’ve engaged in death knocks, covered terror attacks, shootings, the darkest elements of humanity, both in social and digital newsgathering and in field newsgathering in my 20-year career catering for different newsrooms.
Investigations are important in the journalistic world but when individuals are targeted and focused upon and treated like press fodder, we need to think closely about who are we doing this for. For the audience? No. For the journalist’s own gain, for promotion, to show that by engaging in shock value and groupthink, that we’re part of the pack? That’s not journalism, that’s not record-keeping, that’s gossip and conjecture.
Every story that a journalist produces should add value to the conversation. If you’re repeating what someone else is saying because that’s the done thing, you should take a look at yourself and what you are writing and scripting and reporting again. Media pile-ons are not journalism.
We write for humans, and therefore we should consider the humans in the pieces we are doing.
Stories of public interest should be reported on but in a way that is fair and consistent with the wider ecosystem and other stories. The media has a problem with race both in hiring practices, retention and the way stories are reported; the media industry reflects wider society in this way.
Journalism has the power to change things. And individual journalists have the power to bring compassion, parity, and ethical considerations into their reporting spaces, more so now than ever before. What can be done? Think before you spit something into the world. Who, what, where, when, why and how. They aren’t just a formula to write a story against; they’re also a breathing space to help you consider values and what it is you are contributing to the world’s knowledge.
