ABSTRACT
Journalists have a rich and varied history conducting long-term fieldwork in distressed spaces. In this, journalists as “outsiders” attempt to know with intimate depth the struggles and processes affecting less-resourced communities and the lives of their sources. Because of the divisions of power, privilege and culture separating the institutional space of the newsroom and that of the field site, fieldworkers have long grappled with how to conduct immersive work accurately and ethically. Calling forth interdisciplinary insights from journalism, anthropology and sociology, this chapter leverages case studies of professionals and insights from scholars to discuss: how fieldworkers build and maintain rapport, enter and exit the field space; the role of neutrality and fieldworker positionality; bias and “sides” taken in work with marginalized peoples; transparency and relationships with sources; and balancing empathy and objectivity. This chapter also attends to critical debates with contemporary significance for reporters: What do fieldworkers owe the communities in which they embed themselves? What particular considerations should fieldworkers take for immersion into marginalized spaces and for representing such communities? Where is the line between empathy and advocacy, and how does this influence reporting outcomes?
