What is Journalistic Truth?
Graham’s research seeks to identify and engage critically with the dominant theoretical paradigm (TDP) of Journalism Studies. In a series of inter-disciplinary explorations it is argued that the paradigm is inadequate for the challenges of the 21st century. The present age is one of fake news, hate speech, and increasing social, political and media polarization. It is a time when governments outsource censorship to social media corporations. It is a turbulent age in which citizens face complex challenges – so called “wicked problems” – challenges that are complex and multifaceted – and that require accurate, reliable information. Graham explores the nature of the common methodological approaches of TDP, as Klaus Krippendorff puts it,
“The re-articulation (interpretation) of given texts into new (analytical, deconstructive, emancipatory, or critical) narratives that are accepted within particular scholarly communities”.
Post-Truth or Truthophobic?
Graham’s willingness to explore taken for granted assumptions raises interesting, provocative questions, such as is TDP overly confined within a limited set of content analysis and ethnographic approaches?
Graham introduces a new critical approach which he refers to as Truth Theory (TT). Drawing on modern cognitive psychology, TT holds that human decision making and opinion forming is highly complex. TT asserts that different people make different decisions at different times, in different situations and depending on numerous rational and a-rational criteria. In the words of the psychologist Bertram Malle,
“In many situations people make graded, sophisticated judgments”.
However, underpinning everything, is the availability of trustworthy information and reliable testimony. As Jackie Harrison observes, “News has an orientation towards truth through a truthful account of contemporary events”.
Hence TT acknowledges mechanisms of deception and manipulation, and, of course, the epistemic concept that information may be true or untrue. This in turn leads us towards an exploration of our philosophical assumptions, and the cognitive tools we employ to shape our beliefs. In summary, TT sees decision making as an imperfect task in the face of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
Graham’s research is thus highly relevant to real world praxis, and has the potential to transform the way we teach, conduct our research and collaborate with society. One consequence, for example, could be greater recognition of the importance of the skills of critical and rational thinking. Such debate may be considered within the context of the current age of political polarisation and partiality. As the Marxist thinker Terry Eagleton puts it,
“Not since the 1930s have we seen such a mass loss of faith in the liberal middle-class consensus. There have been outbreaks of class warfare and talk of violent revolution, all of it fired by a fury, hatred and despair very far from the sedate, civilized climate of Westminster or Capitol Hill.”
Collaborative Funded Research
Because Graham’s research is cross-disciplinary, there is considerable scope for collaboration with academics in a wide range of disciplines such as cognitive psychology, linguistics, social & political psychology, and philosophy – in addition to media and journalism studies.
Graham’s research relates to issues of media and journalistic literacy and therefore has considerable scope for attracting funding for the production of curriculum resources for schools and for other non-academic stake holders. These resources would offer a much-needed theoretical underpinning for an understanding of fake news, and the relationship between the media, journalism and democracy – and the concepts of impartiality, accuracy, and truth.
