Summer 1996
Civic Journalism Comes to Buenos Aires
By John Dinges
Editorial Director
National Public Radio
Civic journalism, at least in theory, came to Argentina in late April, and journalists and civic activists immediately linked the new ideas to the role of the press in a country that has only recently emerged from military dictatorship.
More than 60 Argentines took part in a two-day conference in Buenos Aires, “Civic Journalism: Theory and Practice,” which resulted in planning for two future projects. The April 25-26 meeting was the first on the topic in Argentina and may have been the first seminar held outside the United States devoted entirely to the discussion of civic journalism techniques.
Two American journalists — Max Jennings, editor of the Dayton Daily News, and NPR’s John Dinges — were sponsored by the Pew Center to speak about their experience in organizing and implementing projects in their news organizations and to act as resources as the participants discussed ways to adapt civic journalism to the problems of Argentina.
An overflow crowd of more than 90 people attended the opening session in the U.S. Information Agency’s Lincoln Center.
Jennings and Dinges outlined the ways some U.S. news organizations are attempting to reframe reporting around citizen concerns and to demonstrate an explicit commitment to the improved functioning of civic life. Jennings described the Dayton Daily News’ coverage of children and crime, “Kids in Chaos,” in which the newspaper and other media partners convened forums to grapple with a community crisis.
Dinges described the NPR Election Project’s efforts to use polling, small forums and innovative reporting techniques to establish a “citizen’s agenda” around which election coverage could be focused.
Participants, in contrast to concerns in the United States about declining public confidence in the media, stressed that Argentina’s press enjoys generally high credibility and is one of the country’s most respected institutions. They attributed this, in part, to the press’s role as an advocate of democracy in the waning years of the military dictatorship, which ended in 1983.
The press also has played an important role in investigating and exposing corruption, particularly in the country’s wave of privatization transactions, which sold off to the private sector enterprises previously managed by the government.
While the press sees its role as an adversary and a watchdog of government, participants said that political and public affairs reporting does not generally incorporate the views of citizens, except as represented by major political parties or in “person on the street” interviews. One speaker, Pepe Eliaschev, described the media’s treatment of ordinary people as “paternalistic. We massage them instead of challenging them.”
A common criticism of the Argentine press was the lack of consistent ethical standards, especially conflict of interest and the blurring of commercial and journalistic values. Low salaries have led to the practice of accepting money for placement of favorable stories and working at outside jobs in political parties or in government.
Conference participants designed two follow-up projects to apply civic journalism ideas:
The conference was organized by Maria Gowland at Fundacion Ciudad, a civic organization promoting citizen participation, with support from the USIA.