Development Journalism

Multiple Approaches to Development Journalism

The goal of development journalism is to use journalism to help develop prosperous, harmonious, and safe communities. Development journalism originated in the late 1960s at the Press Foundation of Asia in the Philippines, due to concerns that journalists were reporting on government media releases and promotional events without [Page 463]sufficiently analyzing or explaining development projects, policies, and issues. At its simplest level, development journalism involves investigating issues that may affect development and translating these complex matters into clear terms that are meaningful to ordinary people. Rather than focus excessively on breaking news about events of the day, development journalists are process-focused, looking at patterns, trends, and issues that illuminate current circumstances and the options for action. They report not just on problems but also on potential solutions. This is thought to help communities to understand and respond appropriately to the conditions, challenges, and changes around them.

There is substantive disagreement, however, about three overlapping issues. The first is whether development journalism should support government strategies and programs or engage in watchdog-style scrutiny of government. The second is how much development journalism should promote government-led policy and action compared to the empowerment of community members. The third is whether development journalism should focus on tangible elements of development such as infrastructure, economic growth, and education levels or more ideological agendas such as social change, equity, and relationships of power.

Many advocates of development journalism take a nation-building approach. This type of journalism predominantly focuses on the policies of governments, expert advisors, and institutions that lead the development of infrastructure, education systems, and resources that support industrialization and modernization. News media reports educate and motivate audiences by informing them about processes, opportunities, challenges, and impacts for themselves and their communities. A variation of the nation-building approach depicts development journalists as government partners. Supporters of this approach recognize the complexity of leading economically unstable and socially fractured societies and that governments and democracy themselves are still developing as institutions. They argue that it is more constructive for journalists to promote government frameworks and strategies and to foster a shared direction around common goals than to undermine confidence with constant critique of government or policy limitations. This approach endorses some limitations on journalistic freedom as necessary to maintain stability and to serve the broader public good.

...