Cohen's Elitist Claim


Arianna Huffington's article Bearing Witness 2.0: You Can't Spin 10,000 Tweets and Camera Phone Uploads shuts down arguments that journalism should stick to traditional, in-person reporting. With the breadth of new media technology and social media, journalists now have access to a wealth of places and information that they previously could only access by traveling to the scene.

Huffington quotes New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, who claimed that the most valuable reporting stems from "bearing witness" by actually experiencing what one is reporting on in person. Cohen himself is specifically referencing Iran when he makes this assertion.

However, this view comes from quite an elitist place. In my opinion, both Cohen's claim and the language he uses to make it alienates readers. His claim that one must "bear witness" in order to report journalism fails to make the reader an active participant in the news and discredits all of the valuable, irreplaceable citizen journalism that has come out of the 21st century.

Additionally, his language is flamboyant and poetic while talking about a country that has been wrecked by war and simply adds to my belief that Cohen is too far removed from the people to properly report for the people.

Comments

Popular Posts