Parachute journalism
Parachute journalism refers to the practice of journalists traveling to unfamiliar locations, often for short-term coverage of significant events such as natural disasters or armed conflicts. The term evokes the image of journalists "parachuting" into these areas without prior connections, which can result in a superficial understanding of the local context and culture. Originally coined to describe international reporting, it now also applies to domestic journalists covering stories outside their usual geographic focus. Critics argue that parachute journalism may lead to incomplete or inaccurate portrayals of events, as journalists may lack the necessary background knowledge to fully inform their audiences.
While the term is often used pejoratively, it can serve a valuable purpose in regions with limited local journalism, especially where press freedom is restricted. However, the rise of parachute journalism has been influenced by factors such as the closure of international bureaus, cost-cutting measures by major media outlets, and challenges posed by global events like the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, there is a growing recognition of the importance of local reporters who possess a deeper understanding of the communities and issues they cover, highlighting a shift in the media landscape toward supporting informed, local journalism.
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Subject Terms
Parachute journalism
Parachute journalism is used to describe journalism that is produced when journalists travel to a location to which they have no prior connection to cover news. The term is meant to convey the idea of journalists “parachuting” into an area to cover specific events and then leave. Often, parachute journalism is used to cover short-term situations, such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Often, the term “parachute journalism” is a pejorative that suggests that journalists are likely to cover an event quickly, with very little background and context. Then the journalists leave the area and do not cover or care about the aftermath of the disaster or event that brought them to the area. In the United States, parachute journalism often refers to journalists traveling to other countries to file a few stories or dispatches. However, the term can also be used to describe journalists who travel from large cities who cover events in smaller towns and regions that are not usually covered by national media outlets.
Background
Journalism is when people gather and present news and information. Journalism also refers to the products (e.g., newspaper stories, radio shows, television news programs, digital media) people create when they gather and present information. Free and independent journalism is considered to be an important part of democracy, as it helps people understand the truth about their society, including the government. Researchers have also pointed out that journalism helps to keep a society coherent because it gives society a set of basic facts on which they can rely. Although journalism is supposed to be clearly reported without bias, all people have biases that may affect their beliefs and their work.
Overview
The main reason that parachute journalism takes place is that a newsworthy event takes place in a region or city where few national or international journalists live or work. The term parachute journalism was originally coined to describe international journalists who parachuted into different countries to cover stories in different regions of the world. When parachute journalism happens on an international level, journalists may travel to a region where they do not know the local language or understand the culture. Journalists may hire local residents to work as interpreters and to help them understand the region but often they will still lack an understanding of elements of history and culture that could change the way they report what they see and experience.
Although parachute journalism started out as a term used to describe international reporting, the term is now also used to describe domestic reporting by journalists who are from outside a region but still report on it. In the United States and most other countries around the world, journalists from the largest media outlets work in major cities. Major media outlets in the United States—such as FOX News, CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post—are all located in large US cities. As a result, many journalists who work for these companies also live in major cities. When news events happen outside these cities, journalists often have to travel to those regions. Some media observers have also pointed out that news stories that happen near large cities, for example, along the United States’ east coast, are more likely to be covered by US media outlets than stories that happen in other regions, such as the Midwest.
Parachute journalism usually happens when a major event takes place, for example, when a natural disaster such as an earthquake or a hurricane causes destruction or when a war or armed conflict starts. Journalists from around the world may travel to a particular country or city to cover such events. In the case of an armed conflict, the journalists may not understand the history of the conflicting groups that led to the conflict. Having a misunderstanding or incomplete understanding of this history will impact the journalists’ work and will affect the audience’s understanding of the conflict. Journalists traveling to a city to cover a natural disaster may not understand the likely effects of the natural disaster on the region because they do not know much about the area. Parachute journalism is less likely to take place when journalists cover human interest stories or when they cover ongoing problems in a certain region because those stories are more often undertaken by journalists who are from the region about which they are reporting.
Journalism affects people’s views and beliefs through the information and context given about a situation. One negative effect of parachute journalism is that it can give people a shallow understanding or an incorrect understanding of an event. If a particular journalist does not understand the background or context of an event, then the journalist’s work will not give the audience sufficient or accurate information. In addition, parachute journalism may also misuse foreign languages, jargon, slang, or other terms.
Although the term is often used in a pejorative sense, parachute journalism can sometimes be beneficial. Some places around the world do not have many domestic journalists because of government oppression or cultural norms. These places may not have anyone reporting on them at an international level. If international journalists travel to those regions and report responsibility for them, the journalists can help people around the world better understand the region and the people living there.
Media outlets can avoid parachute journalism by hiring journalists from particular regions and countries to report on the events that happen there. International news outlets often have bureaus around the world. The people who work at the bureaus are often from the region and have an understanding of the region’s language and culture. Parachute journalism has become more common as media outlets have tried to cut costs. These outlets have closed international bureaus and regional offices. They have also reduced the number of reporters, giving individual journalists larger areas to understand and cover.
In the ensuing decades of the twenty-first century, several circumstances have caused parachute journalism to decline. The lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the early 2020s halted travel for all global citizens, including reporters. Many of these travel options were no longer viable when the world began to reopen. Political tensions and economic downturns also discouraged journalists from traveling. These practical reasons for declining parachute journalism are also coupled with increased ideological issues. Unfamiliarity with a place and culture and the need to support local reporting have also led to a backlash against parachute journalism.
Bibliography
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