The Capital J

Are some Philadelphia media outlets more worthy of attention than others?

by Isaiah Thompson

Not long ago, J-Lab — an "incubator for innovative news experiments" — released a report, authored by executive director Jan Schaffer (a former Inquirer Pulitzer-winner), on the state of the city's "media ecosystem," including recommendations for "possible media investment strategy."

Why all the quotes? Because, what does all that mean? It means money, likely in the form of grants from the William Penn Foundation, which funded the study. Also clear is the fact that Schaffer considers some Philadelphia media outlets more worthy of attention than others.

In: broadstreetreview.com, phlmetropolis.com, pa2010.com, philebrity.com, planphilly.com, The Notebook, septawatch.com, Indy Hall, technicallyphilly.com and Temple Journalism Review. Out (or, at least, unmentioned): Philadelphia Gay News; Al Dia or any other ethnic newspaper; Philadelphia Tribune; Metro; Philadelphia Weekly; and City Paper.

According to a subsequent report by Joshua Breitbart of New America Foundation, Schaffer defended her choices by saying she was looking for "capital J" journalism, and thus had excluded "citizen" or "advocate" journalism. Those omissions warrant the ol' raised eyebrow: Who gets to decide what constitutes "capital J" journalism?

Todd Wolfson, executive director of the leftist Media Mobilizing Project (MMP — unmentioned, of course), argues that Schaffer's report deliberately overlooked groups, like MMP, that she deemed too political while giving the nod to other outlets whose association with "capital J" journalism is not obvious: Collaborative workspace Indy Hall, for example, isn't remotely a news outlet.

Is there an important difference between advocacy and journalism? Of course. But the line can get blurry. As Wolfson points out, even philebrity.com "may not be political, but it speaks to a certain community through a certain voice that projects a certain idea of what Philly should look like."

He has a point. J-Lab can thumb its nose at "advocate" media — but it's every reporter's dirty little secret that we rely on activists to break news. Daily newspapers have long acted as filters through which activists' work passed to reach a mass audience.

But there aren't enough reporters for that anymore, if there ever were. So advocates and various interest groups have taken to breaking news on their own. By narrowly defining that "capital J" to cut them out, it's J-Lab — and the good people of this city — who'll miss the scoop.