Last week, NYU journalism professor and author Jay Rosen penned a well-reasoned few paragraphs for the Washington Post‘s “Twelve things the world should toss out” package. Forty-three years of the WETA/PBS series Washington Week is enough says Rosen, summing up the show precisely when he writes, “Five insiders (journalists) display their understanding of what other insiders (politicians) did this week for an audience of wanna-be insiders (the show’s assumption about viewers).”
Washington Week moderator Gwen Ifill took exception to Rosen’s critique, refusing to refer to him by name. Referring to Rosen as “the professor” and “self-appointed media critic,” Ifill writes that Rosen “used the pages of the Washington Post to take a baseball bat to the head of one of things [sic] I love best—‘Washington Week.’” Ifill also fails to link to Rosen’s piece. Or PressThink. Or even his interview with Bill Moyers on PBS. You know, the one where he criticized Washington insider journalism for a mainstream audience. If all that doesn’t prove Rosen’s point, nothing will.
Rosen’s criticism was witty, brief, and well thought out. Ifill’s response was ill-tempered and, well, horribly miscalculated. She presumably didn’t even bother to research who Rosen was or where he’s coming from. This is exactly what Rosen means when he refers to the Church of the Savvy.
Rosen’s not arguing for “more noise,” “more yelling,” or “one more group of pundits race past explanation to battle”, as Ifill writes, clumsily attempting to dodge and mischaracterize his core point. He’s arguing for more accountability; less lying and manipulation. Less of a view from nowhere; more of a point of view. Less insider baseball; more light from the flashlights of less-heard voices. Ifill writes, “the reporters I know are very smart. They know why things happen. They know how they happen. And, on a day to day basis, they challenge and question everyone they meet and everyone they cover. Then they, and we, allow viewers to make up their own minds.” Really? When was the last time a journalist challenged anyone on Washington Week? It just doesn’t happen.
Of course, it could. Gwen Ifill should book Jay Rosen on the next edition of Washington Week. “If you’re not a guardian of the Church of the Savvy, you’ve got nothing to fear,” as public media veteran John Proffitt writes in “When a PBS journalist attacks”. Read Proffitt’s piece for a great primer on Jay Rosen’s greatest hits.
Ifill is one of the smartest journalists going, but she’s demonstrated that she’s flat wrong about “the professor” as well as the entire premise of Washington Week. It’s so far past it’s use-by date the mold has mold.
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