Journalism performs a detached class relationship. As a trade they are unbeholden to their subjects. A doctor must care about the health of her patients, a cleaner cares if the floor is clean for those who walk on it. A journo doesn't have to care about those she writes about.
She may feel for them, but does not have any need, as an aspect of the trade, to show concern. The only concern is for concrete details - what are designated as 'facts,' or 'truth' - the deployment of which are only of value in compliance with the stance of those who employ her.
Journalism retains many aspects of the myth of Romance, characteristics of the historical era from which it emerged as a trade. Truth seeking, objectivity, doggedness, tirelesness, fearlessness in the face of danger - all speak of the picaresque, the rough but appealing hero.
These Romance elements are foundational myths of the trade. All The President's Men is their Don Quixote. Like all myths, they contain some truth. Some reporters do live boldly. Like all myths, they also sustain the self image of those who rarely live within that fantasy.
@threadreaderapp unroll please
