Journalism, the World and the Future
Discussion of the future of journalism from GMU
The L.A. Times has a good review of the Chief Justice John Roberts Stepping Down flurry. And I can’t agree more with the subhead:
The lesson behind the Chief Justice Roberts rumor
An example from a law professor’s lecture becomes a case study on the perils of a wired world.
Bottom line is that some students in a law class in Georgetown immediately sent out notices that Roberts was stepping down when their law prof said it was happening. Thirty minutes later the prof said the statement was false and that is why good lawyers (and journalists) should always verify their information before going public with it.
“It is a good reminder of the value of old-fashioned reporting, whether that comes in print or online — just someone exercising a certain amount of news judgment,” said David Lat, managing editor of the legal blog Above the Law, which first identified Georgetown law professor Peter Tague as the unwitting source of the story.
The way the news flew around the country in just a few minutes makes it clear how events can get out of hand with poor reporting.
Anatomy of a Rumor: The Story Behind Chief Justice John Roberts’s ‘Retirement’
Clearly a student sent out an immediate tweet on what the law prof said. I would feel even worse if this happened in a journalism class but this is a good teaching experience for journalists.
This episode shows the down side of tweets and blogs. Going straight from source’s mouth to the world prevents those vital few minutes to mull over what was said and the necessary follow up questions. It also skips the vital editorial process.
Everyone of my stories was made better because of questions editors raised. I’m not a bad writer but my editors make me look a whole lot better. (One editor I once worked for, when interviewing new hires, would ask for not just the individual’s published clips but also the first drafts. She wanted to see how much of what was published was the result of the editor and the writer.)
As much as I hate quoting Ronald Reagan: “Trust but verify.”
And then there is the old newspaper chestnut: “If you mother says she loves you, check it out.“
Revisiting an old chestnut.
The Demographics of American Newspapers:
- The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
- The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
- The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
- USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don’t really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.
- The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn’t mind running the country if they could find the time and if they didn’t have to leave Southern California to do it.
- The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a poor job of it, thank you very much.
- The New York Daily News is read by people who aren’t too sure who’s running the country and don’t really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
- The New York Post is read by people who don’t care who is running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
- The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.
- The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren’t sure if there is a country or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country, or galaxy, provided of course, that they are not Republicans.
- The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.
- The Minneapolis Star Tribune is read by people who have recently caught a fish and need something in which to wrap it.
Headline from a Xinhua feed today:
Hillary Clinton’s trip to Brazil to pay way for Obama’s visit
English.news.cn 2010-03-02 10:18:15
How much is she paying? And to whom?
Face it, it’s a rough market for journalists. Reporters and editors are getting laid off all over the place.
So what is a student journalist to do?
I have argued to my students that they need to do something to set them apart from all the other qualified writers, editors or producers. One way is to come up with story ideas (and stories) that show how local and global events are connected. Another is to take some time between graduation and journalism work to do something that will make them look more “hire-able.”
I recommended to my students one way to do that is to sign up for the Peace Corps. And today being the 49th anniversary of the founding of the Corps got me thinking about it again.
And let us not forget that President Kennedy first proposed the idea of the Peace Corps to students at the University of Michigan in 1960.
Besides all the experiences — and language skills — a person gets working for the PC, it gives them an overseas work experience line on their resume.
When I lived in the Dominican Republic (2003-2006) my family regularly hosted large numbers of Peace Corps volunteers in our house. Each time I talked with these volunteers, I felt more impressed with the people who sign up to live in the wilderness and help others gain a better life.
The skills learned negotiating with local leaders to help them develop sustainable agriculture or build education or health infrastructure projects far exceed anything one can learn in college or in the first few years of journalism work.
Exposure to foreign cultures gives PC volunteers a wider (and better) view of how events affect people. Peace Corps volunteers end up seeing more to an issue than those who have not had the international experience.
And working in the Peace Corps — as mentioned earlier — gives a job applicant international work experience. Employers know the difference between “semester abroad” experiences, “traveled overseas,” and “worked and lived overseas.” (To my mind, there is nothing like living and working in a different culture to get a wider perspective of the world.)
Here is a partial list of some of the notable journalists who were Peace Corps volunteers:
- David Briscoe, chief correspondent of World Desk for Associated Press (Philippines 1966-70)
- Dan Carney, reporter for Business Week (Benin 1983-85)
- Judy Dugan, assistant editorial page editor for the Los Angeles Times (Philippines 1966-68)
- Josh Friedman, Pulitzer prize winner for international reporting and director of international programs, Columbia School of Journalism (Costa Rica 1964-66)
- Kathleen Ingley, reporter for the Arizona Republic (Senegal 1972-75)
- Al Kamen, writes In the Loop column in the Washington Post (Dominican Republic 1967-69)
- Robert Laird, op-ed page editor for N.Y. Daily News (Somalia 1962-63)
- Michael Maidenberg, Pulitzer prize-winning publisher and member of the board of trustees for the Knight Foundation (India 1964-66)
- Chris Matthews, host of NBC’s Hardball (Swaziland 1968-70)
One of the other benefits of signing on with the Peace Corps for just-graduated or soon to graduate students is that many student loan programs allow loan payments to be deferred during the 18 month PC assignment.
Check out the Peace Corps here.
