You know what’s crazy? I’ll tell you what’s crazy™
Journalistic errors.
A journalist has little more than his or her reputation. If people don’t trust us, what good are we?
A story ripe with errors and unchecked factual matter is disgusting. It’s like peeling a banana back and revealing black, rotting fruit.
I have made my share of mistakes in my career. You know what they say about glass houses and stones. Hey what do they say about glass houses and stones…
I digress..
The keys are simple. Attribute information. Double source factual matter. Err on the side of caution if there is doubt.
I have been doing this my whole life and knock on wood, I have never been sued for slander or defamation.
Like a good margarita, it’s one part luck, and two parts design. I never met a story that was worth getting sued over.
Few things as a journalist are more horrifying than telling a story only to learn that you may have reported lies as truth, or worse, you were reckless in pursuit of a story.
I have always maintained that I would rather be last and accurate than first and wrong. It sounds like an advertisment for the U.S. Postal service, doesn’t it?
I bring all this up after a fellow journalist was recently excoriated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for a report aired during sweeps.
Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has determined that the non-profit organization “Without Warning” did not investigate the case of missing Tennessee woman, Holly Bobo, to law enforcement standards as reported by Nashville television station WSMV.
Bam!
In a nutshell. A pretty blonde woman disappeared 2 years ago. It has been the subject of tireless coverage and speculation as to what happened.
Every station has run stories on the search, the possible clues, the stalled investigation. Is there speculation, inuendo, Facebook scuttle butt? You bet. Do you report this?
Only if you write for Marvel Comics and you are publishing at the lemonade stand you run at your community pool?
Otherwise, stick to the facts and wait for the investigation to reveal the truth.
A local reporter is now under fire. He aired a series of reports this ratings period about the case. The headlines promised to blow the lid off this case. The promos were big and bold with words like EXCLUSIVE NEW DETAILS and NEVER BEFORE RELEASED INFORMATION.
These are the kinds of stories that only materialize during ratings.
It’s like purple light investigations in Motel 8. “See what the eyewitless News team discovered on the bed spread”
New Holly Bobo investigation details ignored by the TBI? It was ratings fodder to be sure. It was sexy and new and chock full of steamy, sensational details in a case that has captured everyone’s attention.
Based on the credibility of the reporter heading up the report, I never doubted the veracity of the story. Every dog has its day and I just figured it was his day to lift his leg around the fire hydrant of news and be the alpha dog.
His reports critically questioned the motives and the investigative prowess of the TBI. In itself, that’s our job. To question. To probe. To keep big slovenly governmental agencies in check. We are the watch dogs for the public good.
But, you gotta make sure you do it the right way.
Today, in a move rarer than grounding filet mingnon into dog food, the TBI fired back with its big guns. It lambasted the reporter who spear headed the coverage.
To a newsman it was an ice pick in the eye. If he was a vampire, we’d be sweeping the essence of his journalistic soul into a dust pan.
There are only a couple of explanations here. 1. He’s totally right and the agency is just blowing smoke up our skirt as part of a smear campaign to take the focus off their botched investigation.
If he’s wrong and the TBI is right, then 1. he got sloppy or 2. he was under such pressure to produce something huge for ratings that he knowingly disregarded the truth.
What kills me is that The head of the TBI says, neither the reporter nor the TV station called his agency for a comment.
That’s journalism 101. “Get the other side of the story”
“The erroneous television reports have led to false leads, public concern and have wasted valuable state resources,” said TBI Director Mark Gwyn. In addition, TBI is concerned that WSMV never confirmed any facts reported in the stories with our agency. Never have we seen such irresponsible and unprofessional journalism on an active and open TBI investigation that has been so harmful to the case.”
This is the journalistic equivalent of spraying mace in the face of a mugger. It is credibility repellent.
The reporter is a competitor and I try to beat my competitors into submission. I want them to lose and feel bad when I bust their ass on a story. But honestly, reading this, I am saddened for the reporter, I am ashamed for his TV station, I am embarrassed for journalism today.
The sad thing is, the ratings are all ready in. His reports probably did “big numbers”. When it is all said and done, the station will add up all the ratings points and charge advertisers more to air commercials.
A falsified report. Higher ratings? More ad dollars?
Hunter S. Thompson said journalism is a profession where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason.
Will this report hurt the station’s credibility in the future? Doubtful.
As my long time camera man often says; Battle lines are drawn, only time will tell.
Life’s Crazy™