Activism vs journalism: What serves the public good?

[caption id="attachment_20608" align="alignleft" width="195"] Pamela Anderson combines her sexy image with her position on ethical treatment of animals.[/caption]

Leanne Jenkins-----Interested in taking action against something you don't like?  PETA offers suggestions on how to be an activist, with tips that don't just work for animal rights but also for other areas of the culture where activism can sometimes make a difference.  But how should journalists be involved?

This is what PETA says one can do in order to become an activist, A Guide to Becoming An Activist.  The book cautions people to dress for success and present themselves in a respectful manner.  It also discusses how an activist should interact with the press.  The organization refers to these as the "Carnegie Principles, " referencing the notions of Stephen Covey's book, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People."  The recommendations also have that "practice what you preach" advice, to go vegan as an example of the ethical treatment of animals.

The crossovers between the media and activism, however, are a thin line, perhaps, as there are differing views about the role of the press.  Traditional media supports objectivity, although the walls are slowly crumbling in some areas, with the numbers of blogs that allow journalists to present opinions.  On the other hand, the traditional newspapers and news magazines continue to stress objectivity.

The blogosphere has no such limitations, so the blogger who offers information on pet care may also be a member of PETA and be demonstrating somewhere someplace in some outgoing fashion.  These are the folks who might be less likely to look at two sides of the issue.  In many cases, the goal is to shine a light on the activism or the issue as opposed to the nature of an argument or specific incident.

And some of the folks try to explain what they consider is a balance, or an area, where some objectivity is possible that is supported by strong opinion.    Advani, a journalist in India, spells out his role as more blogger than political activist, even as the lines become blurred between journalist and blogger.   This, he explains, was his justification in expressing what he does, yet maintaining an opinion edge to his journalism:  " Advani said he had told the journalist fraternity after emergency that 'while the government expected you only to bend, I found some of you were willing to crawl. That made me sad'."

And while some in the media maintain there is a difference between journalism and activism, others in the Nieman Watchdog Community believe there is room for opinion-related information pieces.  They are, however, somewhat circumspect about how to undertake this approach, as with those opinions might come solutions.  In other words, the writer offers suggestion on improving a situation along with the rest of the story.

All of this occurs as PETA and other groups continue to keep writers in the loop, so they can produce press releases and interact with the traditional media, by understanding the roles of both activist and journalist.    PETA hopes its cadre of supporters, as does other activist groups, will become sophisticated not only in the activist issues surrounding the humane treatment of animals but also in how to interface with other people who may not favor a strident approach to providing both opinion and facts.

Most people in the media, however, maintain there is a balance, sometimes not one so easy, between activism and journalism, but with the underlying message of respect, some of the divisions can be ameliorated, as PETA suggests.

 

Cooked alive; China is an earthly hell for dogs

Dogs cooked alive in China

Ernest Dempsey — Do you think the treatment of dogs in America and East Europe or Brazil can sometimes be their worst nightmare? Well, as this article explains there is an even more deadly place, where dogs are treated especially cruelly, which is literally an earthly hell for them.

Today’s economic giant China has places where dogs are baked alive. For any civilized individual, it would be hard to find the right words for this practice, for it is so terrifyingly wrong that the worst term one could think of would be too tame to express this horror of horrors.

The practice of cooking dogs while they are alive is being reported occasionally in China. Last year, Green Prophet published a story on stray dogs being cooked alive in Eastern China. The post had photos of a small homeless puppy being lured toward a woman who was shown in the next photo to be holding the dog by its neck in tongs and cooking it over fire.

A post in the Data Lounge noted that this kind of cooking, which obviously is extremely cruel, dates back thousands of years in Chinese history – a kind of culinary tradition. The Eastern  Chinese city of Kengkou is particularly infamous for this, as the photos of the story making the news were taken from there. But the practice exists, as a sore on the burdened existence of insensitive human hunger.

The writer of the Data Lounge Post rightly noted that while in places where consuming dogs for food is taboo, such practice indeed sounds cruel. Yet, when thought over in the context of all the animal bloodshed and cruelty to animals in the west and other parts of the world, it will become a bit difficult to condemn the Chinese alone for what they do to dogs. In a world where a living, breathing animal, capable of feeling pain and emotions and as much part of our natural scene as any human, how can we overlook what happens to cattle, pigs, poultry, and other animals and still say that we condemn cruelty to animals in China.

In this global drama of senseless slaughter, animals are conveniently made “source of protein” to justify the massacre. Burning dogs alive for food in China is again a reminder that we need to stop now – even now if we could – because life is rotting in our furnace of ignorance.

Folks who are outraged about the practice of cooking dogs alive are urged to request President Obama to raise the issue with China. or to sign one of the petitions available that ask people to publicly raise an outcry against the heinous practice of cooking dogs alive.

In a world where humanitarian issues are important, how man treats his animals is an important criteria in the manner in which one looks at life.  While some believe eating dogs is a usual cultural practice, and therefore China, one of these places, might continue its traditions; it is possible to find an enlightened way to serve one's appetite and not indulge in the kind of cruelty practiced against dogs.

Chipotle balances animal and human rights with food

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Carol Forsloff - The Chipotle restaurant chain set out to make a difference in the way it manages that delicate balance between animal rights activists and those who want to continue to eat their meat products while still remaining healthy, something a restaurant near Portland State University believes it has achieved.

Hope Lopez serves up her menu of Mexican items with the kind of smile that is engaging.  Her customers wait in lines for that smile that accompanies good food.  The same is true of her service staff, a group of young people on a mission to make a difference in the food industry, that helps animal rights activists and people who like to eat meat get along.

“There’s a way to achieve balance,  “ Lopez tells us.  “Our business is the way to do that, at least that is its intent.  Chipotle stresses caring for the environment, especially the environment where animals are raised.  There is cruelty in the food business in how animals are treated.  The founder of our restaurant chain has tried to end that with his practice of making sure the animals used in the food we serve are not treated cruelly.”

[caption id="attachment_6047" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Chipolte near Portland State University"][/caption]

The restaurant sits near Portland State University, where the food demands are great but the choices of fare various for students that are “city fied and fed” enough to want the best.  The fare, as tasted by a hungry journalist wandering through Portland on a Sunday afternoon, is favorable to the most discerning palates of those who wander far.  If Chipotle is seeking great taste as a leading factor in its food, the burrito bowl is a menu item that can make the most critical connoisseur stand up and cheer for that and the wholesome notion of having wholesome food and yet retaining animal rights as well.

[caption id="attachment_6046" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Chipolte motto"][/caption]

Portland is a way-station for protest, a place where the environment and the care of animals and going green is celebrated in many ways.  Food is one of those places where balance has been sought, although there is a seeming, never-ending protest about how that balance can be achieved.

Chipotle's local restaurant manager tells us balance is in the menu that stresses care for animals but the rights of humans as well, to eat right and make sure that the food that is eaten is healthy and developed in a “green” and caring way that Lopez underlines.  “We can all agree to get along if we try to find ways like my company has, to serve food right and fair.”