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Section Four

Journalism

12 The Sacred Side of

Professional Journalism

Thorbjörn Br od dason

The idea of sacredness as a key element in the maintenance of social cohesion has
been one of the best-established fixtures of sociological thought since its introduc-
tion by Emile Durkheim (1976/1915). In this paper the idea is discussed that some
occupations, journalism being one of them, are invested with sacredness while
others are not. It will be argued that the sacredness of occupations derives from a
combination of sources, the most important being the mysteriousness of exclusive,
but vital knowledge and the nobleness of self-sacrifice. My argument suggests also
that if we add the dimension of sacredness to current definitions of professionalism
we shall have improved our understanding of this latter concept and increased its
usefulness in sociological discourse. I shall, in other words, attempt to demon-
strate that a profession is a sacred occupation in the Durkheimian sense.
The prolific sociological literature of recent decades on professionalism
abounds with definitions of the concept, most of which include exclusive knowl-
edge and self-sacrifice as core items but do not explicitly take into account the
mysterious or sacred aspect. Thus, Armstrong (1990: 691) lists esoteric knowl-
edge and a service ideal as ‘essential’ professional attributes while Wilensky
(1964: 140) notes that the ‘service ideal is the pivot around which the moral claim
to professional status revolves’. According to Goode (1970: 28): ‘... the two gen-
erating qualities are (1) a basic body of abstract knowledge and (2) the ideal of
service.’ Freidson (1986: 123), while acknowledging the service aspect, lays heav-
iest emphasis on ‘gaining a living by virtue of possessing credentials based on
higher education’. Abbott (1988: 318) concludes that ‘... a firm definition of pro-
fession is both unnecessary and dangerous ...’ and notes laconically that the
‘tasks of professions are human problems amenable to expert service’ (Abbott,
1988: 35). Although admirably simple, this statement is too indiscriminate as it
Source: EJC (1994), vol. 9: 227–248.