How Journalists Identify

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 3 explores the ways an ethic of care can be practiced with an identity awareness in service of engagement to build news trust. It draws from the work of political scientist Joan Tronto to understand how an ethic of care might guide public deliberation through commitment to five values: attentiveness, responsibility, competence, responsiveness, and solidarity. It answers the following questions: How do different reporters trust people and practice ethical standards according to their identities? How do reporters of different identities engage in order to practice trust building? How are journalists themselves thinking about and practicing the connection between their own identities with their engagement and trust-building work? Answers to these draw from hundreds of hours of ethnographic participant observation at engagement trainings, workshops, summits, and panels as well as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and surveys with 174 journalists and a review of the explosion of journalistic metadiscourses around identities.