Journalists who refer to themselves as "storytellers" diminish the profession in the public eye, says a new study by UC journalism researchers.
The study, which looked at the public's perception of the term "storyteller" when attached to a journalist's credentials, was recently highlighted in a NiemanLab article, titled: "Sounds like a well-trained liar": Journalists lose some credibility by calling themselves "storytellers".
"Too often, it seems journalism and news reporting are co-mingled with communication, PR and anything that has to do with media content production," says study co-author Jeffrey Blevins, professor and head of UC's Department of Journalism.
This co-mingling, he says, blurs the lines between news reporting and storytelling, given that journalists have the specific responsibility to report the news based on facts through investigation without embellishment.
