"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
One quote. 19 words. A message which rings true decades later.
Upton Sinclair, an American writer and political activist, was best known for these poignant words. A journalist and politician, Sinclair was committed to exposing wrongdoing, despite pushback for his progressive ideas.
But at what point do journalism and politics interest and at what point should they?
To better understand this intersection, specifically the intersection for Sinclair, the differences between yellow journalism and muckraking must be understood.
Upton Sinclair (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
Muckraking and yellow journalism, although both focus on investigations and exposing wrongdoing, are very different things. While muckraking lays out the facts, yellow journalism exaggerates these to make a bigger story than what it is.
Sinclair, a muckraker, played a very important role in exposing the abuses in the meat packing industry, even being recognized for his work by the government with the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 and the Meat Inspection Act.
Some people, however, view the work of Sinclair and other muckrakers and watchdog journalists as a detriment to society. Oftentimes, these people claim that if there was a problem, those effected would speak up, however they are often silent in fear, as shown by Sinclair's previous mentioned quote.
While many muckrakers are involved in politics, there is a fine line in how involved they should be.
As written in my post "What Makes a Good Political Reporter?", a political reporter or muckraker must not let their own personal bias influence their reporting. Unfortunately, far too often, individuals do allow these lines to blur and muckrakers as a whole face decreased reliability.
Going back to an earlier post, "Julian Assange: The Man the First Amendment Doesn't Apply To", Assange is a watchdog journalist. Sinclair is a watchdog journalist.
One is praised while the other is prosecuted. The difference? Sinclair called out wrongdoing in the workforce. Assange called out wrongdoing in the government.
In order for muckraking, watchdog journalism, and democracy to work, it is key that not only journalists stay out of politics, but politicians stay out of journalism.
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