No such thing as an ‘independent journalist’

IN the past couple of weeks, I have heard the term “independent journalist” more often than seems normal, mostly from those who are attempting to carve out a paying niche for themselves – and to be fair, it seems like a lot more of them are doing it successfully – on platforms that are perceived to be outside the “corporate media,” such as YouTube or Substack. As one example, there was a fairly recent (Sept. 28, I believe) post on Substack by Marlon Weems, whose commentary I enjoy reading, lamenting to some extent the platform’s catering to “star power” in the form of refugees from the “corporate media” such as Joy Reid, who was recently bounced by MSNBC. Marlon asked the question, and it was a fair one, can people like this claim to be “independent journalists” when everyone knows that, if the circumstances were a little more favorable to them, they would still be a part of the better-paying corporate media? And by inference, the second question that arises is, what does that make the vast population of people (like Marlon Weems) who are not beholden to the “corporate media” and rely on platforms such as Substack to ply their “independent journalist” trade?

I would include a link, but at the time I am writing this (1308Z on Oct. 13), Substack’s servers are being uncooperative. I do apologize for that, even though I don’t have to; the post was entitled, “Who gets to claim independence?” and it is part of Marlon Weems’ blog? page? I don’t know what they call it, called “The Journeyman” on Substack. Go find it for yourself.

Anyway.

To cut to the chase, there is no such thing as an “independent journalist.” Stop saying that.

I get where the attention to “independent journalists” comes from. The mainstream, corporate media in the US has so overtly bent over backwards to lick Trump’s tiny, tiny balls that any sense of objectivity or depth has gone right out the window. If it’s any consolation to people in the US (and it shouldn’t be), it’s not a US-specific problem, nor is it anything new. There is always a profit motive in journalism, whether at an enterprise level, or an individual one; thus, no one is truly “independent.”

Take, for example, Mr. Weems or the hundreds of other worthy “independent journalists” using Substack as a platform; as long as they have an objective to earn revenue from their work, which is not an unreasonable expectation, because work is work, none of them can be considered truly “independent.” Independent from the mainstream media exemplified by the big networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, the big US newspapers, etc.), yes, but constrained both by the limits of their chosen platform, and more importantly, by what their audience (who, after all, pays them to keep doing what they’re doing) wants to hear.

Many years ago, my mentor as I was getting into this business as a second career, the late, great editor and columnist Jojo Robles, gave me a couple of pieces of advice that have always stuck with me. One of those was, “As soon as you can, find out what your paper’s sacred cows are, because everyone has got some. And while you’re at it, make sure you understand what your own sacred cows are, because everyone has got them, too.”

And, as long as one expects this work to allow one to enjoy the comforts of life, such as living in a building, eating food, and being able to turn on the light when the sun goes down, those sacred cows will matter. Even if one endeavors to honor truth, empirical reality, and fairness to all legitimate sides of a story – as one should – those sacred cows will matter. Even if one has the fortune (or misfortune, as the case may be) to rely on corporate platforms such as Substack or YouTube to distribute the content that earns them money, those sacred cows will matter.

One may have options – as I feel I am privileged to have – in dealing with those sacred cows, but they still matter, and they’re going to have to be dealt with, one way or another.

“Independent journalists?” I don’t think so. There is no such thing, and the best that our varied audiences can do, if they value truth and an accurate view of the world at any given moment, is to level out the various biases by reading as many as they can. And as for us journalists who are inclined to adopt the pretense of “independent journalists,” don’t. Stop it. No one is; not me, not you, not anybody, even when we are being as faithful to the ideals of our craft as we can be.