THE POLITICS OF JOURNALISTIC CREATIVITY

Abstract

This article begins with the assertion that creativity in journalism has moved from being a matter of guile and ingenuity to being about expressiveness, and that this reflects a broader cultural shift from professional expertise to the authenticity of personal expression as dominant modes of valorization. It then seeks to unpack the normative baggage that underpins the case for creativity in the cultural industries. First, there is a prioritization of agency, which does not stand up against the phenomenological argument that we do not own our own practices. Second, creative expression is not necessarily more free, simply alternately structured. As with Judith Butler's performativity model, contemporary discourses of creativity assume it to have a unique quality by which it eludes determination (relying on tropes of fluidity), whereas it can be countered that it is in spontaneous, intuitive practice that we are at our least agentive. Third, the article argues against the idea that by authorizing journalists (and audiences) to express themselves, creativity is democratizing, since the always-already nature of recognition means that subjects can only voice their position within an established terrain rather than engage active positioning.

Keywords:

• authenticity
• authorization
• creativity
• creative industries
• expressiveness
• media democratization

Acknowledgements

The idea for this article came out of an “in conversation” event organized by Birkbeck's Centre for Media and Creative Practice, titled “What's So Good About Creativity, Anyway?” I would like to thank my co-speaker Dr Isabelle Fremeaux for her stimulating insights and ideas on this topic.

Notes

1. The conceptual viability of cultural hegemony is beyond the scope of this article; for present purposes, its commitment to functionalism or cultural teleology obscures some of the nuances of the determination of journalistic practice under discussion here.

2. That is, the quantifiability, uniformity and reproducibility of values and practices.