"I don't have to understand it. I just have to write about it."
Those words came from a reporter who had just interviewed a friend of mine who was working in business development. My friend was doing his best to explain how private business and government partnerships work.
At the end of the interview my friend asked the reporter if he understood the issue. Needless to say, he was less than enthused about the reporter's response. In fact, that moment many years ago soured my friend on journalism. Even though he continued to do interviews over the years with other reporters, he was always wary. He was always concerned about whether stories would be accurate and fair.
He's not alone. Consider the following:
"Business, community and civic leaders say they and their organizations often are covered by reporters who simply do not know enough about the subjects they are trying to report on."
That assessment comes from veteran newspaper editor Bob Haiman, who wrote a handbook called "Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists." Haiman was examining journalistic standards and practice for The Freedom Forum's Free Press/Fair Press Project.
Here's one more element of what Haiman wrote:
"Inability to report with authority was cited repeatedly as a problem on stories about technical subjects such as science, medicine and aviation as well as business, the economy and the law. Business executives, bankers, lawyers, city managers, elected officials, and even ministers and rabbis spoke convincingly that when reporters and their editors have a limited grasp of the topic, the story they produce is likely to be unfair."
That indictment tells us we often fall short in our professional responsibility to inform and educate the public on significant issues. We fail our ethical duty.
This indictment came to mind when I saw a recent story about a new program at Northwestern University. The Medill School of Journalism -- one of the best in the land -- is partnering with Northwestern's School of Music to offer a combined Bachelor of Music/Master of Science in Journalism.
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... we too often fail our journalistic mission and flunk our ethical obligations because we just aren't smart enough about the subject matter we cover. |
Students in this joint degree program will take a usual range of courses in reporting, writing, and editing along with courses in music theory, history, and aural skills.
Loren Ghiglione, Medill's dean, told The Chicago Tribune "…we need a new paradigm for what a good journalist does. The old paradigm was that any good reporter can do a good job of covering any subject, regardless of how complicated it is. The new paradigm says: 'Wouldn't it be good if people really knew what they were writing about?' In other words, reporters should try to know as much about a subject as the people he or she is writing about."
That idea might be rather scary to journalists who consider themselves generalists. And, to some degree, reporters need to be reasonably versed in a wide range of issues since the story du jour may require at least some familiarity in a particular topic.
But it's clear that we too often fail our journalistic mission and flunk our ethical obligations because we just aren't smart enough about the subject matter we cover.
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... wouldn't it be great if more newspaper and broadcast executives and owners committed themselves to continuing the "subject expertise" development of their journalists? |
Sandy Rowe, the editor of The Oregonian, has been making that case for years. She says one of the greatest weaknesses in American journalism is our failure to hire and develop reporters who have expertise on the beats they cover.
Northwestern University's new joint degree program in Journalism and Music addresses that concern in one subject area. Wouldn't it be great if more universities offered similar programs where students could specialize in economics or religion or genetics while also specializing in journalism?
And, wouldn't it be great if more newspaper and broadcast executives and owners committed themselves to continuing the "subject expertise" development of their journalists? Yes, some news organizations provide the funding support and time off for educational opportunities. But far too few.
Journalism educators and journalism leaders must develop and carry out more and better ways to make journalists smarter.
Until that happens, too many reporters may fall back on that lame excuse my friend heard: "I don't have to understand it. I just have to write about it"
And journalism's credibility will continue to erode.
