2014-global-go-to-think-tank-index-22012015_1

ealm is becoming more decentralized, centralization efforts that battle terrorism are few and far
between. These are some of the issues think tanks battle with the decentralization of power.
XIV. Blurring of the Lines between Think Tanks and Journalism. Recently, a combination
of circumstances has led to inreasing blurring of the lines between think tanks and journalism. A
perfect example that reflects this emerging issue of global journalistic think tanks is the
“Thinking about Think Tanks” event located in the Fletcher School at Tufts University that took
place on October 14, 2014. The conference was organized and chaired by Brooke Williams, who,
according to the conference schedule, is a member of Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra
Center for Ethics. However, a quick search indicates that Brooke Williams is also an award
winning investigative reporter 123 who plans to investigate think tanks during her fellowship at
Harvard.
This severe blurring of the lines occurs between journalist and scholars. And though “journalists
[…] are not traditionally valued in think tanks, […] think tanks are in journalism more to
promote ideas than to inform the public or expose wrongdoing”. 124 Still, these odd and
potentially troubling developments can increase the difficulties of keeping journalism and think
tanks in their separate lanes, particularly when conflicts-of-interest may arise.
How can this occurrence be seen any different than when Doug Brandow, who in 2005 was also
represented and introduced as a scholar from Cato, attended an event for scholars but ended up
involving corporate beneficiaries within his testimony The essence of using a scholarly event to
perform lobbying activities is, therefore, a re-occurring event that deserves attention and
classification as an emerging issue for think tanks.
There is no grudge or prejudice involved within the writings of this trend; we all have our own
variety of affiliations. However, there is something troubling about this specific trend. The
existence of another dimension to the current crisis we are now experiencing certainly needs to
be addressed for further exploration, for “a relationship that used to be symbiotic […] is
becoming competitive.” 125 “Think tanks are doing journalism […] deskbound journalists,
meanwhile, are embracing data and spreadsheets. […] Think tank journalism comes closest to
the traditional sort when it is in the field…spend[ing] their days crunching data and attending
meetings.” 126 By using methods dedicated and devoted to think tanks, the lines between
journalism and think tanks become blurred, leading to damaging consequences.
There is a reason why certain journalists try to imitate and mimic the think tank methods and
infiltrate into the true scholarly world. Journalists sense their job opportunities starting to shrivel
123 Brooke Williams." Brooke Williams. Accessed October 27, 2014.
http://ethics.harvard.edu/people/brooke-williams.
124 Ibid.
125 “Making the Headlines." The Economist. September 20, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2014.
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21618824-divide-between-having-ideas-and-reportingthem-dissolving-making-headlines
125 Ibid.
126 Ibid.
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