There are many truisms about journalism. That it should speak truth to power. That it must be rooted in community. But what do these mean in practice, especially at a time when journalism is facing an unprecedented set of threats – financial, technological, and political? 

In this episode, George Miller talks to journalist and media commentator Jon Allsop about the challenges confronting journalism today and how he went about exploring them in his new book, What is Journalism For? Their conversation covers journalism’s complex relationship with democracy and power, the impact of declining local news, the evolving role of social media, and whether there's reason for hope amid the crises.  

Society needs journalism, Jon says, but ‘that is not the same as saying society needs legacy media – large newspapers, cable news networks – and that these things will somehow be preserved in aspic forever, in the current form, and that traditional journalism with its ethical codes and its norms will persist forever.’

Jon Allsop writes for the Columbia Journalism Review, editing its flagship “Media Today” newsletter.

Find out more about the book at: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/trade/what-is-journalism-for

The transcript is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2025/04/14/podcast-can-journalism-as-we-know-it-survive/

Timestamps:

01:43 - How do you explain what your job is?

05:02 - When you get up in the morning what is your journalistic diet? What is your routine?

08:27 - How did you decide the best way to tackle the question of what is journalism for?

13:16 - How did you actually approach that process of speaking to fellow journalists?

24:05 - Why do journalists sit so low in the league table of trusted professionals?

30:02 - How worried should we be about the disappearance of local news? 

44:45 - Do you think there is reason to be hopeful even with the changing landscape of journalism?

Intro music:

Cold by yoitrax | @yoitrax

Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com 

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