by Danny Hosein

Created on: April 18, 2008

The assumption that the purpose of journalism is solely to find truth is incorrect. In repressive and closed societies, journalists must not only discover truth, but as investigative reporter Amy Goodman says, they must give "a voice to those who have been forgotten, forsaken, and beaten down by the powerful."[1] This more engaged mission for journalists avoids the problem of seeking truth: there is no singular truth to be discovered. The perceptions of outside observers of any society are shaped by the underlying assumptions and stories portrayed by the media. When journalists construct stories primarily from sources of power without including the voices of the marginalized, readers may not question the authority or the trustworthiness of those sources. The practice of using government officials as primary sources is common, even in open societies such as the United States. The challenge for journalists covering closed societies is to bring light to the darkness of repression by exploring the multiple truths and assumptions at play in those places. The journalist must construct a narrative that not only explains that repression and dissent are occurring, but explain the numerous manifestations of and interactions between the two.

An important part of understanding and constructing a narrative of the effects of repression in closed societies is the exploration of both rational and irrational truths. Burma is a prime example due to the government's paranoia and irrational decision-making. For instance, the military junta's decision to move Burma's capital of from Rangoon to Naypyidaw is widely rumored to be the result of the tellings of a soothsayer. Many in Burma scoffed, but the majority of people in Burma believe to some degree in fortunetelling.[2] A useful example to explain the importance of understanding superstition in society comes from Tracy Kidder's account of Dr. Paul Farmer's trials and tribulations treating tuberculosis in Haiti. Farmer realized he needed to understand the virtually universal belief in voodoo by Haitians to treat his patients adequately. If he did not, patients would never learn to trust him or modern medicine because neither fit the patients' superstitious frame of reference.[3] For a journalist to find truths in a place like Burma, he or she must grasp the fundamental untruths that drive both the people and the powerful. Understanding these beliefs, as well as other widely held cultural and religious beliefs, opens the door for

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