Journalism Between Two Worlds
Journalism between two Worlds
An Abstract: “Journalism as an Anglo-American Invention” is an article by Jean K. Chalaby which appeared in the European Journal of Communication. The article argues that journalism is an Anglo-American invention. This essay attempts to examine the claims made by Chalaby by critically venturing into what the histories of these two types of journalism can enlighten, and thereby, state the extent of authenticity made by Chalaby’s claims.
The Essay:
The writer attempts to depict journalism as a uniquely Anglo-Saxon institution. The argument is given a concrete shape by comparing the French school of journalistic practice with that prevalent in the United States and Britain. The conclusion drawn is that journalism was born in these two countries and spread to the rest of the world.
It is claimed that American and British journalists invented the modern conception of news, that Anglo-American newspapers contained more news and information than any contemporary French paper and that they had much better organized news-gathering services. Proper journalistic discursive practices, such as reporting and interviewing, were also invented and developed by American journalists.
Chalaby also attempts to spell out the cultural, political, economic, linguistic and international factors which favoured the emergence of journalism in England and the United States.
No one could certainly doubt the centrism of the Anglo Saxon world, as at that particular point of time, there was a significant shift in the economic and political paradigm towards the English and the American domain. But there was a slightly a distort in Chalaby’s assertions, which states that much of the modern journalism took its shape from the Anglo Saxon style. This comes into collision with the fact that much of the so called modern literary journalism is a direct product of the French journalism in the 1800s.
The so called “fact driven” nature of the Anglo-American press can
An Abstract: “Journalism as an Anglo-American Invention” is an article by Jean K. Chalaby which appeared in the European Journal of Communication. The article argues that journalism is an Anglo-American invention. This essay attempts to examine the claims made by Chalaby by critically venturing into what the histories of these two types of journalism can enlighten, and thereby, state the extent of authenticity made by Chalaby’s claims.
The Essay:
The writer attempts to depict journalism as a uniquely Anglo-Saxon institution. The argument is given a concrete shape by comparing the French school of journalistic practice with that prevalent in the United States and Britain. The conclusion drawn is that journalism was born in these two countries and spread to the rest of the world.
It is claimed that American and British journalists invented the modern conception of news, that Anglo-American newspapers contained more news and information than any contemporary French paper and that they had much better organized news-gathering services. Proper journalistic discursive practices, such as reporting and interviewing, were also invented and developed by American journalists.
Chalaby also attempts to spell out the cultural, political, economic, linguistic and international factors which favoured the emergence of journalism in England and the United States.
No one could certainly doubt the centrism of the Anglo Saxon world, as at that particular point of time, there was a significant shift in the economic and political paradigm towards the English and the American domain. But there was a slightly a distort in Chalaby’s assertions, which states that much of the modern journalism took its shape from the Anglo Saxon style. This comes into collision with the fact that much of the so called modern literary journalism is a direct product of the French journalism in the 1800s.
The so called “fact driven” nature of the Anglo-American press can