Access journalism, or access reporting, refers to

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

(often in

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

form) which prioritizes access—meaning media time with important, rich, famous, powerful, or otherwise influential people in

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

, and other areas—over

journalistic objectivity Journalistic objectivity is a principle within the discussion of journalistic professionalism. Journalistic objectivity may refer to fairness, disinterestedness, factuality, and nonpartisanship, but most often encompasses all of these qualit ...

and/or integrity.

Features

Typical features of access journalism include: * absence of demanding

accountability In ethics and governance, accountability is equated with answerability, culpability, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the public secto ...

towards the questioned respondent * avoiding controversial topics so as to maintain access to the respondent * pre-approved questions, no gotcha questions, softball questions * sometimes even respondent's control over how the interview will be edited and which parts will be aired Access journalism, in some cases, is similar to

infomercials An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...

, or advertising disguised as news. The venture of doing the interview can be

symbiotic Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...

—beneficial for both the journalist and the celebrity, since it can synergically bring more attention to both of them, and further notability, influence, media exposure, current relevance, etc., for both of them. Access journalism has been contrasted with '' accountability journalism''. A similar contrast is between '' lapdog journalism'' and ''

watchdog journalism Watchdog journalism is a form of investigative journalism where journalists, authors or publishers of a News, news publication fact-checking, fact-check and Interviewing, interview political figure, political and Public figure, public figures t ...

''.

Criticism

Critics of access journalism argue that prioritizing relationships with influential figures for the sake of access undermines the fundamental role of journalism to hold power accountable. This practice was highlighted during

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's 2016 presidential campaign, where media outlets provided extensive coverage, often without challenging the accuracy of his statements, resulting in what some estimated to be billions of dollars in free media exposure. This practice has sparked debate within the journalism community regarding the balance between providing coverage and maintaining journalistic standards.

References

{{Journalism Journalism Criticism of journalism Types of journalism Journalism ethics

Features

Criticism

See also

References