Monday, April 24, 2006

Journalists who've worked in the Third World or in war zones will readily admit there are different ways to get the story. There aren't many American journalists with armed bodyguards, yet in parts of the Middle East and Sudan, a big guy with a sidearm can be as necessary as a camera or voice recorder. It would be scandalous if a reporter on domestic soil bribed a government official, or worse yet a gang leader, for access to a source; yet throughout the poorest and most chaotic nations, it is occasionally the only way to get to the right people and places.

Journalists working overseas build such costs into their budgets. It is not considered the least bit shameful. Overseas correspondents are counseled to be discreet with such payments to ensure such bribes don't become expected when they are not necessary, and so journalists do not become targets for scams or robberies.

So why is it considered taboo to help the desperate and vulnerable people living at the bottom of social ladder?

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Abe McLaughlin asked that question. He is stationed in Johannesburg, South Africa, for The Christian Science Monitor. There are many Western correspondents in South Africa. They gather and share stories. When Abe heard Canadian reporter Stephanie Nolen talk about helping three orphans in rural Swaziland, he persuaded her to let him write about it.

Nolen was haunted by the image of the siblings, left to fend for themselves after their parents and other adult family members died of AIDS. Every morning, Nolen said, the children would put on their uniforms and stand in front of their village home watching the other children go to school. They didn’t have the money to pay the school fees. Nolen has written dozens of stories on the AIDS crisis in southern Africa, but she wasn't writing about AIDS orphans, who are not news in Swaziland or South Africa. One of the first lessons international correspondents learn is to be selective. There's not enough time, space or resources to write about every heartbreaking story you stumble over.

But Nolen couldn't just walk away. So she drove to the nearest ATM, withdrew the maximum amount ($150 American) and paid their school fees. Journalists have forever engaged in similar secret acts of kindness, sometimes foraging into their own pockets and sometimes dipping into the fund for translators, fixers and "government fees."

It's a shame many correspondents can't talk about such acts with their editors back home. It's dangerous to be out there in the field making big decisions without any backup. It would be better to have some reasonable guidelines and a way to check in. Here's what I would propose:

• When working in regions without a minimal social safety net (a network of charities, food programs, free education), designate a portion of the cash for charitable causes.
• Whenever possible, avoid giving money directly to sources, because it confuses the journalist-source relationship.
• First look for local resources and agencies. In the same way you might tell a poor person in the United States about food stamps or a free clinic, find out if there are programs that can help.
• When possible, donate money to reputable charities working in the area and ask if the money can be used to help specific people. 
• If the journalists in the field and the editor back at the office agree that giving food or money directly to a source can alleviate extreme and immediate suffering, do so after the interviews are complete and find a way to tell the audience about the newsroom's involvement.
  

Why create a different set of standards for reporters working in fragile social situations? Because it's impossible to confront so much need and not do something to help. Yet behavior that occurs in the shadows can lead to scandal and corruption.

Instead, build a system that works. At the very least, build a system where journalists in the field can talk openly about how they get the job done.
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