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Grafting ethnography onto journalism has been suggested for decades—it’s time to put it into practice.
“Courses in history, psychology, sociology, and political science are often part of the core curricula in journalism programs,” writes Paula Horvath in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator. “Yet, the social science with perhaps the most to offer budding journalists, anthropology, has often been excluded from the chosen courses.”
“The work of journalists and anthropologists is similar in many respects, and journalists can improve their work by studying anthropological methods,” says Bruce Grindal, again in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator
The above quotations show ethnographic methods are valuable to, and lacking in, journalism. One quote is written by a journalist, and one an anthropologist. They were published only three years apart, but over 40 years ago.
Merging anthropology and journalism was attempted through the ‘70s into the aughts. In the 1970s the Russel Sage Foundation sponsors mass media internships for anthropologists; and the Wenner-Gren Foundation funds a summer media workshop with AAA. In the 1980s regular bylines appear in mass-market media from various anthropologists such as Maria Vesperi for the St. Petersburg Times, and Deborah Tannen for The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and Vogue to name a few. Also in the 1980s the Margaret Mead Award gets established by the AAA and the SfAA. It’s a busy year in 1987: the Center for Anthro-Journalism opens (which then closed around 1990); James Lett pens ”An Anthropologist at the Anchor Desk” for Practicing Anthropology; and Journalism & Mass Communication Educator publishes “Adding a W: How Journalists can Practice Media Anthropology“ by Susan L. Allen, ”Anthropological Methods Relevant for Journalists” by S. Elizabeth Bird, and ”Journalism and Anthropology Share Similar Methods” by Bruce T. Grindall and Robin Rhodes.
Yet, by the time I studied anthropology and journalism in the 2000s and 2010s, the disciplines no longer crossed paths. What happened? Where did the proponents of ethnographic journalism go? I reached out to the authors of these articles and other scholars from that time to ask just that.
Many in journalism who took my calls explained they were usurped by newer, sexier ideas, such as literary journalism and engaged journalism. From the anthropology side, I heard from scholars that anthropologists were going through their own challenges at the time, with a focus on proving themselves as academics. The timing was off, and bridging these two fields, I’m told, involved a lot of arm-twisting. People got tired and moved on. Mutual avoidance took hold.
Yet something seems to have shifted in the intervening twenty-odd years. Despite the gap in crossover, these scholars were unanimously enthusiastic that the timing is now right to advocate for their blending.
No Advanced Degrees Needed
There are some modern champions of the anthro-journo collaboration, such as Ted Conover, award-winning and Pulitzer-Prize nominated journalist. Last year, he wrote an article for Frontiers in Sociology titled “Slow journalism: a letter to ethnographers,” in which he says:
“I consider this essay to be a sort of letter to the land of bona fide ethnographers from an admirer on the outskirts—a letter of appreciation and self-explanation that might inform the space between journalism and ethnography, where I spend a lot of time.”
Like me, Conover has an undergraduate degree in Anthropology (perhaps in a few years I’ll pen a similar love letter to ethnographers). Although this can make one feel less “bona fide,” I don’t believe journalists need an advanced degree to reap the benefits of employing ethnographic methods in their reporting. Similarly, I don’t believe social scientists require a master’s degree in journalism to get their work in the public eye (discussed in ‘Benefits for Ethnographers’ below).
Journalism is recognizing a need for reform and modernization. News producers and journalism schools are reckoning with the lack of diversity in news products, in the newsroom, and in the classroom. Working journalists are increasingly facing distrust from the communities they cover, leading to decreased engagement from readers and interviewees, as well as online harassment, particularly experienced by journalists of color and women. A history of legacy media not covering, or misrepresenting, marginalized communities has journalists trying to repair relationships with communities and trying to engage rather than extract. However, although representation, empathy and subjectivity help increase trust in news, these approaches also increase the odds of being accused of bias. Newsrooms, J-Schools, and journalism foundations are looking for solutions.
In my experience and research there are four major problem areas for the individual journalist: finding emerging stories; finding diverse sources; conducting meaningful interviews; and gaining trust. For each of these challenges there exist solutions pulled from ethnography.
Benefits for Journalists
For example, there are ethnographic methods for determining and reflecting on dominant, residual and emergent topicsin a community. There’s also Victor Turner’s view of society as a process, and his theory of “social drama,” which can help predict the story around the corner.
Then, there are of course many useful ethnographic methods for finding interlocutors and for mapping how groups understand concepts or categories, like semiotics, that can be repurposed to help bring into relief more nuanced or diverse topics, or to amplify minority voices that might be missing from a story.
Interviewing is a key method shared by both disciplines. But the context and approach to interviews employed by anthropologists often differs from journalists. This difference provides a key to unlock solutions to challenges journalists face today. Journalists increasingly are met with pat answers from those who are media trained, or those who give answers according to what they are used to hearing on the news, ergo what they think journalists expect to hear. Further, a lack of trust from communities impacts interviewing greatly. Borrowing contextual approaches from ethnographic interviews to engage rather than extract, reduce apprehension, let sources lead the discussion, and bring an open mindto what will emerge are a huge help. The speed at which journalists are expected to produce news is largely to blame for journalism’s interviewing shortcomings. For example, journalists typically cold-call interviewees or approach people on the street/scene (calling these “streeters”), instead of developing relationships first; questioning is often succinct and to-the-point, instead of being phrased with gratitude or empathy; and interview notes are kept to a minimum, prioritizing what can be fact-checked. Janet Cramer and Michael McDevitt offer insight about the differences between traditional and ethnographic interviewing in their chapter “Ethnographic Journalism”, positioning ethnographers as “travelers” in their interlocutors’ worlds, versus journalists as “miners.”
James Lett, a trained ethnographer who worked as a TV journalist, wrote a chapter called “The Anthropologist as Television Journalist” in Media Anthropology. The two fields, he explains, use different criteria to evaluate interviews. The ethnographic interview is judged on its product featuring full and rich data, and its process of maintaining rapport. The journalistic interview, however, is judged by the product of delivering usable quotes, and by the interview subject’s expertise or authority to speak on the topic.
From my point of view, the barrier to journalists employing these methods is simply familiarity. Journalists won’t come across these methods on their own, and if they do, such approaches will likely be buried in academia. Parsing out which methods from ethnography can help journalists takes time—something working journalists just don’t have.
Perhaps more anthropologists should submit articles to communications journals on repurposing methods for journalism, speak at journalism conferences, visit J-school classrooms, or simply reach out to media organizations and introduce themselves.
Benefits for Ethnographers
From doing many of the outreach activities suggested above, I know from experience these efforts benefit ethnographers too. Reviewing ethnographic methods under the lens of usefulness to another discipline can help anthropologists see their own skills with fresh eyes, and help them see how to pivot their skills to get their research in the public eye. For instance, introducing themselves to journalists and media outlets is an easy way to get on a media rolodex. News outlets are always looking for experts who will reply on short notice and be happy to speak to the media. From there, penning op-eds and pitching articles are within most ethnographers’ grasp.
As mentioned above, the key for anthropologists—like journalists—is just knowing a bit more about the methods and processes of news producers. I call this “thinking like an editor.” Understanding what makes a story “newsworthy” is one area social scientists can quickly learn and apply to inform their foray into journalism. Since this is one of the most popular sections of the workshop I co-lead for social scientists on borrowing from the journalist’s toolbox, I’ll share some here. Several theories from communications, sociology, and media studies are used to calibrate this, but they generally coalesce into some combination of: recency, timeliness, proximity, rarity, and conflict.
Plus, anthropologists who understand where journalists and editors are struggling—and can identify and communicate how their skills can help—will make them even more than attractive freelance contributors to news outlets. This positions you as not just another freelance writer, but a piece missing from the puzzle.
As mentioned above, one of the biggest challenges facing journalists concerns trust. Ethnographers are experts in gaining and maintaining the trust of the communities they research. They are trusted to tell stories in a group’s own terms. Find concise ways to communicate how you have the trust of communities when pitching your story idea or letting a journalist or editor know why they should interview you. For example, include how many years you have been welcomed in a particular community, or the rapport your field research required, or boast about the number of hours or interviews you conducted to come to conclusions.
The anthropologist’s ability to be trusted, to not be extractive, and to maintain rapport are some of the best solutions an ethnographer can bring to any media outlet struggling with media mistrust. Until ethnographic reporting is more widely recognized, though, it will take those of us who recognize its kinship to journalism—and its potential to help—to raise awareness. I hope to continue participating in journalism conferences, schools, and in newsrooms, and I encourage you to do the same.