Tony Burman - Thoughts On Journalism

Thoughts On Journalism

• Credibility: "Every news organization has only its credibility and reputation to rely on" (qtd. in Globe & Mail, 16 October 2001).
• Public Broadcasting: "It's sad there is no tradition of public service broadcasting in the U.S., a country of 300 million people, beyond PBS. It's a problem for us all.... If there is a resurgence in public service broadcasting, hopefully it will be universal" (qtd. in Variety, 19–25 May 2003, p. 26)
• Supporting Democracy: "We believe that informed citizenship benefits from the expression of the fullest range of responsible opinion on important issues, rather than artificially limiting the spectrum of debate to favour one particular perspective -- however apparently right and justified it may be. At the end of the day, we trust our to draw their own conclusions" (National Post, 25 June 2003).
• New Trends: "In the days ahead... the challenge for established newspapers, broadcast networks and websites is to come up with ways of harnessing the power and wisdom of the audience in a way that adheres to professional ethics and accepted journalistic policy. In other words, a genuine partnership -- and one that is more methodical than simply tossing people small cameras or microphones and then wishing for the best" (column, 3 April 2006).
• New Trends: "More than ever, audiences are determining how the media will evolve. They want news, information and much of their media on their terms on a variety of platforms -- whether TV, radio, newspapers, laptops, personal organizers, cellphones or iPods. And they want a genuine two-way relationship with their content-providers that is more than simply sitting back and absorbing.... They want to respond, engage and create -- to be contributors, not merely consumers" (column, 18 April 2006).
• Credibility: "Credibility cannot be achieved overnight. But public broadcasters must conduct journalism in an open and accountable way.... If you find that the news is only gossip and irrelevant to public interest, avoid going into it" (qtd. in Taipei Times, 11 May 2006, page 4).
• Supporting Democracy: "There is no more important contribution that we can make to society than strong, publicly-spirited investigative journalism" (qtd. in Canadian Association of Journalists newsletter, May 2006, p. 2).
• In a Crisis: "the role of the media... is to try to separate fact from fiction, to help our audiences understand what is happening and why — and to respond to the unfolding drama, as best we can under the circumstances, in a way that makes sense of it all.... To connect the dots, knowing full well that horrific events are rarely random" (column, 14 September 2006).
• New Trends: "We're heading into a world where we're all going to become content providers, not TV stations, not newspapers, not radio stations.... Our reporters will no longer be radio reporters or TV reporters — that particular T-shirt will be put aside and there will be far more contributions to the web, far more mixing and movement among the various networks and platforms" (qtd. in member papers of the Canadian Press, including the Toronto Star and the Globe & Mail, 30 November 2006).
• New Trends: "I have always felt that an openness to change and renewal is at the core of the best journalism" (qtd. in the Globe & Mail, 20 June 2007, p. R1)
• International News: "I have a feeling that, as we look ahead five to 10 years from now, that we’ll look back at 2008 as being very much a turning point for American democracy. So, it’s important that not only Americans understand what is going on, but also those of us outside of America." (qtd. in the Gulf Times, 16 May 2008)
• Public Broadcasting: "there’s more to journalism than simply the commercial aspect of it.... I have incredible distrust and a skepticism about the commercial influences on journalism and on news organizations." (qtd. in Qatar Happening, 1 Nov 2009)
• International News: "...people care about what’s in front of them, what’s on their street and in their community, but that should not be at the expense of understanding the world. I think the financial meltdown was a reminder that what globalization means is a lot of the decisions that affect your life are made far from your community.... You have to see the wider world and what kind of impact it’s having on your lives. The only way you can do that is through the media, because the media provides a window on that world. And if those windows are shut by organizations that up till now provided international coverage, then people who are interested in the world have few places to go" (qtd. in Qatar Happening, 1 Nov 2009)
• International News: "People need accurate information to make sensible choices about their lives, about the direction of their countries. An informed citizenry produces enlightened policies that benefit people generally. And the reverse is true—when you have inaccurate information or you have sensationalism or distortion, that plays with people’s minds and leads to bad decisions.... I think that organizations like Al Jazeera, ...that are committed to accurate and full information, ultimately help society." (qtd. in Qatar Happening, 1 Nov 2009)
• Supporting Democracy: "In the U.S., the broadcast media in particular does a poor job of making crucial issues clear and relevant for Americans to understand. And I think that’s a real threat to a functioning democracy" (qtd. in The Globe and Mail, 22 August 2011)
• New Trends: "We have always needed to rely on people in our audiences and in the public to be our eye witnesses. The challenge in our use of social media is to determine how to organize it and marshal it in ways that enrich our content and better serve our audiences. And we can do that by creating ways to double-check and verify the accuracy of this information. We can’t just put things on the air, on the Web or in print" (qtd. in The Globe and Mail, 22 August 2011)
• New Trends: "There is so much potential here in North America, compared to the developing world, because computers, smartphones and the Internet are everywhere. It's a way to enrich our coverage and capture a younger audience. But in the developing world, social media are being used far more to help people learn about their societies and figure out how to make them better. We should learn from that" (qtd. in The Globe and Mail, 22 August 2011)