Journalism, Even When It’s Tilted

[Commentary] In a refracted media world where information comes from everywhere, the line between two “isms” — journalism and activism — is becoming difficult to discern.

As American news media have pulled back from international coverage, nongovernmental organizations have filled in the gaps with on-the-scene reports and Web sites. State houses have lost reporters who used to provide accountability, so citizens have turned to digital enterprises, some of which have partisan agendas. The question of who is a journalist and who is an activist and whether they can be one and the same continues to roar along, most recently in the instance of Glenn Greenwald’s reporting for The Guardian on the secrets revealed by Edward J. Snowden. Sometimes, a writer’s motives or leanings emerge between the lines over time, but you need only to read a few sentences of Greenwald’s blog to know exactly where he stands. Greenwald is an activist who is deeply suspicious of government and the national security apparatus, and he is a zealous defender of privacy and civil rights.