Renee Hobbs on the Blurring of Art, Journalism and Advocacy

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Aug 27, 2012
by Louise Hallman
Renee Hobbs on the Blurring of Art, Journalism and Advocacy

Media literacy advocate asks if is it ever OK to lie to tell a greater truth in Bailey Morris-Eck Lecture

Renee Hobbs addresses students' questions during the annual Bailey Morris-Eck Lecture on International Media, Economics, and Trade This year’s Bailey Morris-Eck Lecture on International Media, Economics, and Trade was delivered by Renee Hobbs, Professor and Founding Director of the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island, on ‘The Blurring of Art, Journalism and Advocacy’. Speaking to more than 60 students and over a dozen faculty of the sixth annual Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change, Hobbs addressed the intersections of art, journalism and advocacy, asking students to consider whether it is ever OK to embellish stories or even lie in order to tell a “greater truth”. Using the now infamous KONY 2012 video (the viral hit made by American charity ‘Invisible Children’ that drew attention to the actions of Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda and then later drew scorn for its tactics and out-of-date footage) as an example of how different people could interpret the same video differently, Hobbs asked students to consider if the video was art, journalism or advocacy; was it simply a well-made, artistically shot and edited video? Was the charity aiming to accurately inform the viewer of the current situation in Uganda? Or was the video trying to get the viewer to take action, and inform themselves in the process? Or was it a combination of all three?  Hobbs demonstrated how once viewed within each of these three different parameters one could consider the video a success, failure or even dangerous. Although holding different professional attitudes towards truth, lies, embellishment and mis-information, Hobbs said it did not matter if artists, journalists and advocates used or presented reality in different manners as “artists and journalists are different kinds of truth tellers and always have been… Artists are double agents – flipping between art and society.”  Hobbs used the example of literary fiction, even sci-fi and fantasy – despite stories such as these not being based in reality, they can still give the reader insights into human nature and the world around us. “People crave to know our world...” said Hobbs, “We can learn to know our world through science fiction and fantasy novels. Stories told by journalists are just one type [of story].” What does matter to Hobbs, however, is the ability to understand these different types of media messages, and understand the different meanings behind their construction. When facing these increasing intersections between art, journalism and activism, Hobbs argued, it is becoming increasingly important to be media literate, and that education shouldn’t start in high school or college.  Hobbs, through her work with the Media Education Lab, of which she is also a founder, advocates for the teaching of media literacy in elementary schools, saying even children as young as five and six years old can understand the concept of authorship.“Media literacy is both protectionist and empowering... I want to protect children from the worst aspects [of the media] but I also want to empower them with means to express themselves and understand the world around them,” explained Hobbs. According to Hobbs' lecture, media consumers can gain better understanding of the images, audio, video and texts they are facing by asking themselves the five key questions of media literacy:

  1. Who is the author and what is the purpose of the message?
  2. What techniques are used to attract your attention?
  3. What lifestyles, value and points of view are represented?
  4. How might different people interpret the message differently?
  5. What is omitted from the message?

The fifth question regarding the omission of content from media messages is becoming an increasingly important factor in media literacy, explained Hobbs.  â€œWe now live in a post-fact universe...the devil can cite statistics for its own purpose,” Hobbs told her audience, prompting them to consider, as future journalists and media literacy advocates, how might they deal with this problem. “If facts are over-rated then expertise is meaningless...[media literacy] teachers need not to be experts but guides,” Hobbs concluded.


Following her lecture, Salzburg Academy students Maya Hariri, Judy Munge and Oscar Tollast put their questions to Renee Hobbs.

Bailey Morris-Eck is the co-chair and founder of the International Women’s Media Foundation, which has centers in Africa and Latin America and membership in 65 countries. She is also commissioner for Maryland Public Broadcasting and senior correspondent for the London Financial News, contributing a bi-monthly op-ed column, and a director and program chair of WYPR, the public radio station in the Baltimore- Washington area.  As a senior associate of the Reuters Foundation, Ms. Morris-Eck launched its first international policy debate and book series on globalization. She also served as vice president of the Brookings Institution and was a senior fellow of the Institute for International Economics where she worked on trade policy and launched its policy journal, International Economic Insights. She served as an adviser in both the Carter and Clinton Administrations. Ms. Morris-Eck has served as US economics correspondent for both The Independent (London) and The Times of London and as a national correspondent for The Washington Star. She continues as a frequent contributor to BBC World Services and C -SPAN radio.   A member of the board of directors of the Salzburg Global Seminar, Ms. Morris-Eck also serves on the board of visitors of Claremont University, the editorial boards of the German Marshall Fund and the European Institute, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.   The Bailey Morris - Eck Lecture on International Media, Economics, and Trade was established through the generosity of Bailey Morris-Eck and her family. The Morris-Eck Lecture is delivered annually at sessions of the Salzburg Global Seminar. The Bailey Morris-Eck Lectureship on International Media, Economics, and Trade was established in 2004. Morris-Eck Lecturers include William Emmott, former editor, The Economist; Pascal Lamy, director-general, World Trade Organization; Kenneth Lieberthal, William Davidson, Professor of Business Administration, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; Paul Volcker, economic advisor to US President, Barack Obama; and Ewald Nowotny, head of the Austrian national bank.