Journalism Trust Initiative: the impossible – and undesirable – standardization of the media
Information is not an industrial product. Pluralism cannot be certified. And a private benchmark, which has absolutely nothing to do with an ISO standard, should never be used as an implicit, supposedly objective yardstick in public policies that directly concern freedom of expression. On its website, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) presents the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) as « transparent, neutral and global ISO-type certification for the news industry », a scheme designed to « establish a global and neutral standard for trustworthy media » and « empowering citizens with a healthier information space ». The ambition is clear: to position JTI in the reassuring imaginary of industrial standardization, a symbol of rigor, objectivity and technical probity. But this analogy, so effective in communication, doesn’t stand up to scrutiny for long.…