What would ‘inclusive journalism’ have felt like for the pig?

Abstract

The idea of the inclusive society as a policy instrument is based upon equality of opportunities and the equal capacity of members regardless of differences such as gender and faith. Operating within society, the idea of inclusive journalism follows this model, including the anthropocentric practices that exclude the living conditions and concerns of most nonhuman animals. This article argues that for journalism to be truly inclusive the anthropocentric nature of both society and the media must be exposed, and our social practices extended beyond the species divide. The article begins by illustrating the common journalistic practices of reporting on farmed animals, before exploring the new practices of Animal Journalism and, within scholarship, the field of Critical Media and Animal Studies. The article then turns to political theory before suggesting Donaldson and Kymlicka's concept of positive relational rights can be placed at the centre of a non-anthropocentric and inclusive journalism practice.