Chris Satullo: The Ends and Outs of Journalism
“Newspapers are doomed. It’s over.” Just one of many candid revelations by former Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Page Editor Chris Satullo in his discussion with WPBA members on Wednesday, April 8. “Journalism is what must survive, not this antiquated notion of printing ink on dead trees,” he explained. After thirty years in the industry, Satullo has moved to a New Media focus at WHYY, but his understanding of good reporting and writing remain as sharp as the day he left the Inquirer last July.
Satullo gave the audience, which included competitors in WPBA’s recently concluded Policy Cup, his “Five Don’t’s” and corresponding “Five Do’s” of good persuasive writing. His list bore all the marks of a seasoned veteran who has persuaded millions of readers on dozens of issues, not to mention a clear-eyed vision of raising public debate above the partisan rants that have dominated cable news in recent years.
“Don’t mock down,” was one example on Satullo’s list. “People in positions of authority are fair game,” he continued. “Mock up, but don’t mock the ordinary Americans who happen to disagree with you.” He criticized the juvenile approach of many writers who make punch lines out of trivial (and rarely relevant) issues like a particular group’s favorite music or restaurant or hobby—all because the writer does not support the same candidate as the group he or she is stereotyping.
“I am shocked,” one audience member said, “by the poor understanding of economics and statistics that I see in newspaper articles. Why does this happen? Shouldn’t journalists be better informed about these matters?”
Satullo shook his head. He knew the problem all too well. “One in a hundred journalists understand compounded interest. Can you believe that? How do we even begin to explain credit default swaps or collateralized debt obligations to them?” To Satullo, this kind of disconnect cuts to the core of journalism’s woes. His list of writing “don’t’s” and his critique of the newspaper industry reflected years of frustration with many polemicists’ aversion to facts and numbers and calm reason, but he was quick to point out the journalists who did things right—and it is in those reporters and columnists and the new business models that will support them that Satullo sees hope for the future.
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