WVXU: Journalists shouldn't call themselves 'storytellers'

Journalists who refer to themselves as “storytellers” diminish the profession in the public eye, says a new study by UC journalism researchers.

The study, which looked at the public’s perception of the term “storyteller” when attached to a journalist’s credentials, was recently highlighted in a NiemanLab article, titled: “Sounds like a well-trained liar”: Journalists lose some credibility by calling themselves “storytellers”.

Study co-authors, both professors of journalism, are Jeffrey Blevins and Brian Calfano,  spoke to Cincinnati Edition about the research. 

Blevins is the head of UC’s Department of Journalism.

“Too often, it seems journalism and news reporting are co-mingled with communication, PR and anything that has to do with media content production,” says Blevins.

This co-mingling, he says, blurs the lines between news reporting and storytelling, given that journalists have the specific responsibility to report the news based on facts through investigation without embellishment.

Listen to the interview

Featured image courtesy of Unplash/Yardim.