A guide to issues faced by foreign journalists worldwide and in Japan.

1. ``Why Is Old Fashioned Journalism
Still Important?
A Foreign Reporter’s View
By ERIC JOHNSTON, Deputy Editor, The Japan Times
Ritsumeikan University, Oct. 28, 2016

2. Part I
General Challenges To All Media

3. The 24 Hour News Cycle
Today’s reporters often have to prepare stories
for print and broadcast media, and be ready to
provide updates.
Reporters must have a degree of ability to
access news quickly from the Internet and
television, as well as their own sources.
Traditional standards about the need for
confirming facts have become much looser, as
pressure on reporters to get the story out
quickly, or to add facts only after they’ve filed
the initial report, grows increasingly stronger.

4. More ``Free’’ News Sites = Fewer Paid Subscribers
Much news and information today can be accessed by
anyone who logs on Google News or other news sites
that do not charge users any sort of fee.
For the price of logging on to the Internet, many people
can satisfy their daily news needs and design their own
online newspaper by bookmarking preferred sites that
offer free news.
Generation of Internet users has come to believe that
accessing information online is free, or should be almost
free.
Result? People are less willing than in the past to pay for
newspaper content they feel they do not want or need,
especially if it’s available for free.

5. Breakdown of Traditional Advertising Model
Traditionally, print and broadcast media
made money off of paid advertising. Rates
were extremely high for ads in both and
advertisers were not always sure who was
reading or viewing their ads.
Today, with digital technology,
advertisers pay much less than in the pre-
Internet era for advertising and can target
specific websites that attract the kind of
customers they want to reach.
Newspapers relied on classified
advertising for a good portion of their
income (For Sale notices, Job Listings, etc.)
Today, a variety of SMS sites have taken
over traditional classified advertising for
virtually nothing.

6. What This
Means. . .
In the U.S., newsroom
employment went from
56,900 in 1990 to 32,900 last
year. As for profit, a few very
big national media did well, as
did some very small media.
Everybody else is hurting.
In U.K., government figures
suggest a decline of about
6,000 journalists between
2013 and 2015.

7. Specific Challenges in
Japan
Let me in!
I’m a Journalist!
Let me in!

8. What’sa ``Kisha”Club?
• A group of reporters, photographers, and cameramen from newspaper and
television stations that are members of the Japan Newspaper Association or
the Japan Broadcasters Association, i.e. the ``mainstream’’ Japanese media.
• Clubs are located in all major central and local government agencies, the
Prime Ministers’ office, both houses of Parliament, all district and high courts,
and the Supreme Court, and select major business groups nationwide. Clubs
hold briefings and press conferences with senior officials.
• Clubs often restrict non-member media organizations from attending press
conferences, or tell them they can only observe, not ask questions. Even
foreign journalists with Foreign Press Cards have trouble getting into press
conferences at government ministries and, especially, the courts.
• In recent years, some foreign media, especially the foreign wire services, have
gained access to many press clubs that were previously closed.

9. What Does a Kisha Club Look Like?

10. Kisha Clubs:
The Arguments For and Against
Kisha Club System Critics
• The Kisha Club System is a form of
information cartel that allows Big Media
and its allies in Government to restrict
the public’s right to know.
• The system creates cozy relationships
between reporters and their sources,
turning the media into government
propaganda tools.
• The system ignores the technology
changes of the past two decades allowing
for rapid dissemination of information,
and is actually dangerous to the well-
being of the nation.
Kisha Club System Defenders
• The Kisha Club is a voluntary system that acts
as a quality control mechanism for objective
reporting.
• Japanese law and the power of bureaucratic
discretion means that there would be more
democratic abuses by those in government
without the kisha club system to act as a
monitor, however imperfect, of those in power.
• Other countries have similar systems, so
what’s wrong with Japan’s kisha club system?

11. Japanese Attitudes
About Media and
Freedom of Speech
A strong media relies on
a strong political, social,
and legal environment
that supports a free and
open press.
A 2015 study by the
Washington D.C.-based
Pew Research Institute
of worldwide public
attitudes towards
freedom of expression
revealed some
interesting results.
People can say
what they want
w/o censorship
The media can
report news w/o
censorship
People can use
the Internet w/o
censorship
UNITED STATES 71% agree 67% agree 69% agree
UNITED KINGDOM 57% agree 58% agree 53% agree
AUSTRALIA 52% agree 57% agree 53% agree
FRANCE 67% agree 46% agree 50% agree
GERMANY 86% agree 73% agree 69% agree
PHILIPPINES 50% agree 53% agree 40% agree
MALAYSIA 43% agree 44% agree 32% agree
SOUTH KOREA 56% agree 52% agree 50% agree
INDIA 44% agree 41% agree 38% agree
JAPAN 57% agree 45% agree 40% agree
It’s important
in my country
that. . .

12. Unique Challenges of Foreign Media

13. The Language Barrier
Relatively few Japanese speak English well, even in Tokyo.
Usually, only long-term resident foreign correspondents have
bilingual ability to work entirely in Japanese and their native
language. Even fewer have near native ability to read
Japanese.
Reluctance of officials to speak in English. Many prefer
Japanese and will refuse to speak on the record in English.
Amount of English-language information and number of
Japanese fluent in English decreases rapidly when outside
Tokyo.

14. COSTS OF REPORTING
Virtually all foreign correspondents are
based in Tokyo, one of the world’s most
expensive cities (cost for 1 full-time
correspondent in Tokyo = cost for 3
correspondents in other parts of the
world).
Cost of traveling from Tokyo to
elsewhere in Japan for a story can be
extremely expensive compared to many
other countries.

15. ASSIGNMENT:
Trip to Okinawa for Governor’s Election (Sat.-Mon.)
EXPENSE COST
Round-trip flight from Osaka to
Naha plus two nights in Naha hotel
30,000 yen tour package ordered
online months in advance.
Taxi Fare to northern Okinawa for
key interviews
20,000 yen round trip
Taxi Fare within Naha for various
interviews
3,000 yen
Food and drinks for self and
interview sources
5,000 yen
TOTAL 58,000 yen

16. OVERSEAS INTEREST IN JAPAN STORIES
Generating overseas editorial interest in Japan-related
stories is easier than it was a decade ago, thanks to the
worldwide popularity of what is referred to as MASK
(Manga, Anime, Sushi, Karaoke) culture. But
overseas appetite for political stories is limited.
Certain business sectors (autos, consumer electronics)
and finance still attract interest of editors at business
publications. But interest is still less than interest in
neighboring China-related stories.
Compared to interest in stories from Europe, Middle
East, Africa, India, and even China, international
media interest in Japan-only stories is still small.
Hmm. Maybe I should
pitch a Japan-related
story to the editors
today. . .

17. Timely Ability To Interview Official Sources
Japan’s culture of official
communications means that foreign
correspondents often cannot get
ahold of government officials willing
to speak on the record.
Time-zone differences with home
office can mean stories needing
official comments are sometimes not
assigned until late evening Japan
time– by which time it’s difficult to
get ahold of anybody very quickly.

18. Japan’s
Political
Climate
In April, David Kaye, United Nations Special Rapporteur on
the right to freedom of opinion and expression, visits Japan,
warns that ``weak legal protection, the newly adopted Specially
Designated Secrets Act, and persistent Government pressure
for ‘neutrality’ and ‘fairness’ appear to be producing high
levels of self-censorship,” in Japan.
In the 2016 Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press
Freedom index, which measures press freedom in 180
countries, Japan falls to 72nd place, from 61st place last year,
behind Haiti, El Salvador, Botswana, and South Korea. Top
three countries are Finland, The Netherlands, and Norway.

19. Part II
Why We Need Old-Fashioned Journalism for
Democracy

20. Clarification and Confirmation of Facts Foundation of Democratic Debate
Traditional Journalism: Importance on clarifying and
confirmation information. ``Be Quick, but Be
Accurate.’’
Internet Age: Information shared by those without
time or ability to fact-check is spread easily. Easier to
spread mistakes, propaganda, false facts, and outright
lies if no editorial process to slow things down.
Internet News: Junk Food For the Democratic Mind:
Instant Gratification, Feels Good, Can Have Whatever You
want. Don’t Know How It Was Cooked.
Old-Fashioned Journalism: Vegetables For The Mind:
Not Always As Tasty As Internet News, But A Better
Vitamin Balance For Becoming A Democratic Citizen
(Stories To Help You Engage In The Democratic Process

21. A Community of Skeptics is a Democratic Community
Old Fashioned Journalism
Speaks Truth To Power
“Journalism is printing
what someone else does
not want printed:
everything else is public
relations.” - George
Orwell

22. Part III
To Become A Great Journalist (and Citizen) You
Need. . .

23. A Broad Curiosity About The Real World
The Best Journalists are those
who have a fairly broad range
of intellectual interests.
Specialization is fine, but
constantly seek to learn new
things.
It’s critical to be able to
distinguish what’s really going
on in the world from what you
think should be going on in the
world. Otherwise, you are
talking about theory, not fact.

24. A Historical Imagination
A deep understanding of
history, especially modern
history, is crucial to becoming a
journalist. One must know
what happened in the past to
make sense of the present and
more accurately predict the
future.
A ``historical imagination’’ is
the ability to draw similarities
between what people are
saying and doing today and
what was said and done before.
Without it, a journalist quickly
becomes a propaganda agent.

25. Street Smarts and Common Sense All Good Journalists have what
society defines as ``common
sense’’ and ``street smarts.’’
``Common sense’’ is based on
intuition, logic, and a desire to
find a simple solution to
problems, and forms the basis of
judgements. Good common
sense often equals good
judgement.
``Street smarts’’ is the ability to
see slightly ahead of the curve
where problems and possible
failure lurks, and the ability to
know when you’re being lied to,
or when somebody is hiding the
truth.

26. Hope and a Sense of Compassion
Journalists often see terrible things, or deal
constantly with greed, stupidity, corruption,
falsehoods, and the unfairness of life.
It is quite easy to become cynical and uncaring,
to lose your sense of anger at the world’s
injustices, and to want to just give up.
All good journalists retain some sense of
personal hope and compassion for others,
despite how hopeless and hard the world
sometimes seems. Having these two qualities is
what separates a great journalist from a bad
journalist.

27. A Sense of Humor
A good sense of humor will help
you keep your perspective on life.
Nobody likes a journalist who is
always grim, always serious,
always trying to lecture the world.
An ability to see the absurdity of
life is a form of wisdom that sends
a signal you are not only intelligent,
academically, and experienced
professionally, but also a wise
human being.

28. Good Reading and Viewing Habits
Read real books about real subjects.
Read well-written stories that are logical and make
you think.
Be very careful with social media. Much of the
content is toxic and will destroy your ability to
think and concentrate for long periods of time.
Read classic texts on politics, philosophy, religion,
economics. Read classic fiction, drama, and poetry
from a wide variety of cultures, not just your own.
Good reading and viewing leads to good thinking
and writing.

29. An Ability To Deal With Many Types of People
You need the ability as a journalist to
be diplomatic, to get people talking,
and to not take personal offense, or
SOUND like you are taking personal
offense if you disagree with what is
being said.
The more types of people you deal
with, the better you’ll be able to
understand how to get information
from them.
Journalists are, in a sense, diplomats.

30. The Ability To Tell A Story
It is not enough to be able to
ask good question, get
quotes, interview people,
understand the history and
background of what you’re
writing about. You must also
be able to write what you
know in a way that is
interesting, truthful, and
easy to follow.
Good journalists arrange
their facts into a logical
beginning, middle, and end,
using language that their
readers can not only
understand but also identify
with.

31. The Ability To Listen
It’s easy to learn how to
be a good talker. Good
Journalists know how
to be good listeners,
and to hear what is not
being said as well as
what is being said.

32. The Ability To Understand Which Details Are Important
Some journalists believe
that if they collect enough
``facts’’ the truth will
always emerge. But which
facts are important to the
``truth’’? Unless you can
judge facts, and details,
you’ll end up as confused
as your readers and viewers
and will be ignored.

33. The Ability To See
the Big Picture
Details and facts form the basis
of reporting and of journalism.
Reporting often involves
answering questions that start
with ``Who’’, ``What’’, Where’’,
``When’’ or ``How.’’
Being able to address the Big
Picture involves the ``Why’’
question, the one is the most
complicated. Addressing the
``Why’’ question effectively
is the difference between
journalism and mere
reporting.

34. IN CONCLUSION
• Old-fashioned journalism means getting the facts right, and being
able to tell a story that attempts to not only report Who, What,
Where, When and How, but also Why.
• The advent of the Internet and SMS means we are all ``Citizen
Journalists’’. But for a democratic society to function, accurate
information, and an honest attempt to get at the truth are essential.
Only old-fashioned journalism supported by the public can ensure
democracy will thrive.
• Japan offers special challenges to any journalist, foreign or
Japanese, who believes in the ideals of old-fashioned journalism.
But despite the problems, international surveys show that while
Japan is not as high in freedom of press rankings as it should be, it
is better off than many other places.

35. THANK YOU!!