The role of Journalism in Executive Accountability

I find looking at the way in which Journalism and the media is perceived by different individuals at different times very interesting. In a blog I posted not long ago, I talked about an essay I had read for my Art History Course that discussed the reaction to newspapers and the field of Journalism when it first emerged with the invention of the printing press. 'Cubist Collage, the Public and the Culture of the Commodities' written by revered Art Historian Christine Poggi, raised the point that artists, writers, poets and members of the middle class saw newspapers as examples of Low Culture - the 'prostitutes' of Literature as French artist Mallarme evocatively called them.

Interestingly, I have again stumbled across a reference to Journalism and the media in a reading for another one of my university courses, Principles of Public Law, however, the view of the field of Journalism differs greatly to that talked about by Christine Poggi. Indeed, my reading this week, from an Australian Public Law textbook, and a chapter on executive accountability, stressed the fundamental importance of Journalism and the media in a democratic society such as Australia's. The media has played a very important role in government accountability as 'journalists have a rich history in Australia of assisting in uncovering corruption and mismanagement within the Executive.' Such a fact is highlighted in the Fitzgerald Inquiry, a Commission of Inquiry into police corruption in Queensland set up in the late 1980s. In this Inquiry it is expressly stated that it was the work of investigative journalism that helped reveal the corruption of the police in Queensland, creating the catalyst for the establishment of the inquiry.

Further, the importance of the role of the media and the field of journalism in holding the Executive accountable in Australia has meant that laws have been put in place, such as those outlined in the Evidence Amendment (Journalists' Privilege) Act 2011 (Cth), to help protect Journalists and their sources.

When the field of Journalism firstly emerged it was viewed excessively negatively as Low Culture. Now, however, it holds a vital position within Australia, and other democratic societies, as a mechanism which holds the Executive accountable for its actions. I find it fascinating that the field of journalism has progressed so positively.