Living in a Media World, BDN post Socolow’s blog about journalism’s objectivity during civil unrest
The Bangor Daily News published Michael Socolow’s opinion piece “Caught in the Crossfire: Journalism’s ‘Objectivity’ Problem in Times of Civil Unrest” that was first a guest blog on Ralph E. Hanson’s Living in a Media World site dedicated to current news on journalism and mass communication issues. “Every attack on a working journalist is an attempt to hide something shameful, unlawful, or embarrassing. For the police, and for some of the protestors, journalists are dangerous and must be confronted — for simply doing their jobs, writes the media historian and associate professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism. “This is, of course, only one small component of the larger tragedy we’re all watching. But as the son of a journalist, as a former journalist, and as teacher and mentor to journalists, I’m finding it particularly painful to watch reporters being arrested and assaulted for simply doing their job professionally. Too often we forget that it’s honorable work done in service to the citizenry, and without these sacrifices we would be far less well-informed.”