CLAIMING JOURNALISTIC TRUTH

Abstract

The US press's assertions of credibility stem from the post-World War I decade. Disillusioned with its own earlier credulity regarding the Committee on Public Information's (CPI) wartime propaganda, the press gradually professionalized during the 1920s. During those years, it focused on developing fact-oriented work routines that allowed it to claim it was more accurately reporting the “truth.” During that same decade, PR pioneer Edward L. Bernays claimed that propaganda served as a pro-social mechanism, offering new minority viewpoints that the press may overlook. Bernays’ advocacy of propaganda during that decade aggravated news worker concerns about post-war domestic propaganda; the press attacked propaganda as corrosive and his claims as elitist, disingenuous and irresponsible. Not surprisingly, journalism's professionalization movement gained further momentum, asserting a scientific approach that emphasized gathering facts contextualized by experts. However, this same technique for guarding against propaganda had the unintended effect of news workers turning to PR sources for the data and contacts needed to report stories. Journalistic claims of autonomous authenticity continue to exhibit a dissonance that has roots in these dynamics.

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