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Beyond Journalism: A Profession Between Information Society and Civil Society 187

ORIENTATING INSTRUMENTAL
Goal: orientation action
Function: stage, forum file, memory
Emphasis: attention information
User: public/citizens individual/role player
Info-mode: one way/‘allocution’ interactive/‘consultation’
Product: ‘fax paper’ ‘PC paper’
Profession: ‘old’journalism ‘new’ journalism

FIGURE 14.2 IDEAL-TYPES OF JOURNALISM
Source: compare Bardoel (1993: 119).

The main differences between these journalistic ideal-types are indicated in
Figure 14.2. It will be clear that the new information services require mostly ‘new’
journalists (or information brokers), while the classical media seek ‘old’ journalists.
As we have said, these are ideal-types; all sorts of mixtures are possible.
We can see, therefore, that as the media sector segments, the integrating,
centripetal task gains in importance as well. There will be employment for
journalists in both fields in the future. The difference is that the first task will
expand while the second will shrink, and thus journalistic intervention will be
threatened, both in quantitative and qualitative terms.
What will happen to classical journalism? In a society held together less by
geographical and physical relationships than by medial and symbolic links, the
good journalist functions as a conductor of social debate and a broker of social
consensus. Peters’ (1993: 550) thesis that – referring to Bentham and Mill – the
press functions as the ‘social superego’ and the ‘moral regulator’ for the coordina-
tion of society contains more truth then ever before. In the new surfeit of
information, the traditional task of journalism will evolve from sending messages
to offering orientation to the citizen and the emphasis will shift from ‘content’ to
‘context’. We have already suggested that the emphasis in journalistic inter-
vention will shift from ‘getting’ information to ‘bringing’ information (Bardoel,
1989: 49). Within the profession itself, however, the emphasis is still very much
on collecting information (the traditional ‘TinTin romanticism’ in journalism)
and less on directing the social flow of information and public debate. More than
ever, the task of journalism will lie in filtering relevant issues from an increasing
supply of information in a crowded public domain and its fragmented segments.
Journalism evolves from the provision of facts to the provision of meaning. In
the new ocean of information, ‘navigation’ is desperately needed. Information in
itself is less important than information shared with others. Communication
rather than information becomes the key word, and journalists have a long
tradition in bringing minds together. In fulfilling this function the – higher
educated – public expects the journalist to put aside all traces of old-fashioned
paternalism.
At the same time, it should be noted that journalism does not seem adequately
equipped to deal with this new task. Blumler (1992: 104) has said: ‘A threading