A Great Time for Journalism These Days
A lot of mistakes, a lot of concerns, and a lot of serious worries...and some silliness.
You can find that t-shirt on Amazon, by the way.
But yeah, journalists often need a lot of support in a job that is time-consuming, stressful, usually doesn’t pay that much, and even dangerous. They also need support during a time when journalists are under a large microscope as major world events happen and the freedom of the press is being threatened time and again. But it doesn’t help when the news does not do its job well during these delicate times. A few weeks ago, a Gallup poll found Americans’ trust in the news was at an all-time low at 32%, almost the same as in 2016. The figure covers people of all ages and political beliefs.
That same poll found there is a lot of doubt about whether journalists can be ethical and honest. Not much was said about anything specific or what particular coverage reduced Americans’ trust, so guessing is the road to take here. Hopefully, more research can find the answer.
But findings like that are not easy to absorb for many journalists, especially when there’s other bad news in an industry meant to deliver information to help audiences understand what’s going on in the world, form opinions and make decisions based on that information.
As mentioned before in this newsletter, newspapers are in danger. They are closing left and right each year, creating news deserts in many sparsely populated areas, leaving many Americans without access to the news of their community, let alone their state and country. Local TV news and radio can only fill that void so much.
According to Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism’s Local News Initiative, one-third of the nation’s newspapers since 2005 will be gone by the end of this year. That’s 2,900 newspapers or more than two a week. 43,000 newspaper journalists have lost their jobs since 2005 as well. That’s a lot of information out the window for many Americans.
Speaking of which, there are some in this country who want to silence those trying to do their jobs. Today at New York City’s City Hall, there was a hearing about the NYPD encrypting its radio communications. Meaning, that the NYPD is looking to make sure there is no public access to its radios, be it the average person using Citizen App or journalists themselves. This could lead to no one being able to know what is happening all over the city.
As Steve Gessnann, vice president of Breaking News Network, the service that uses scanners to put out notifications told amNY, “If we didn’t have access to NYPD we would have to wait for the press office to send notification that something happened – nobody is going to have any idea of what is going on.”
Another journalist, Oliya Scootercaster who’s company, Freedom News TV provides video for TV stations in the tri-state area, told amNY. “We can do our job now, but if encrypted radios come, we can only do our job when police notify us, then it is police controlling the press…It’s not that the police are doing something wrong – it’s just our job to see what’s going on, to document and if we are not there can’t present it, the scene could be cleaned up.”
The New York Press Club sent out an email to all members saying the NYPD is considering allowing media access to the radio communications, after a 30-minute delay. “A cop shoots a suspect—you hear nothing, as has been done in Chicago. Police use racial slurs—language is conveniently cleansed. Are you okay with this?” the notice said.
Oh boy. Not a good sign. Especially with all the negative attitudes towards cops that are truly warranted. As many of us know, actions like this mean there’s something to hide.
That reminds me, that multi-billionaire who bought and destroyed Twitter - henceforth to be known as Twit - has filed a federal lawsuit against Media Matters, a liberal watchdog group, saying it “maliciously” trying to drive away advertisers when it reported that some companies’ ads, including Apple, were scrolling alongside pro-Nazi content. Musk calls the reports a smear campaign, hence the lawsuit, even though he himself reposted or commented on antisemitic posts. But yes, that legal action on a media watchdog group for doing research and revealing what many were already aware of. Or better yet…
But with journalism being the victim these days, it’s such a bummer to see even the most respected news outlets fail to do their jobs well and gain the trust of the people. The war between Israel and Hamas would be a good chance if the news media did its job much better. For example, the rocket that struck al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza on October 17th was reported by the New York Times as having been set off by Israel. This led to global outcry towards Israel and more support for the Palestinian people. However, within days, video analysis proved the rocket was actually from Gaza and had gone astray before hitting the hospital. Erroneous reporting such as this caused much criticism towards the Times, which later wrote that the video doesn’t explain much.
And now, we’re hearing that despite so much denial over reports that Hamas was hiding out in al-Shifa Hospital and even had tunnels underneath the facility, as Israel kept saying, those accusations were indeed true. A Hamas command center, weapons, and those tunnels were uncovered, as reported on November 15th. Yes, doctors kept denying that the hospital was not being used by Hamas, but there’s a chance they were saying that so Hamas wouldn’t kill them.
Many Americans criticized President Biden for not calling for a ceasefire while the rest of the world was. But as the Wall Street Journal reported, the United States intercepted communications from inside the hospital that made it clear Hamas was using it as a command center.
If only other news outlets reported just as carefully. As columnist Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post pointed out in her column yesterday, “Cable and network news shows that featured critics claiming this was purely a hospital have not invited those guests back to explain their misstatements. The news organizations have not leveled with audiences that they were manipulated.” Rubin would later write, “For some, no evidence will ever be enough to undermine the credibility of sources whose false claims about the hospital have too often been accepted at face value…Efforts to characterize the hospital siege in and of itself as proof of Israeli “war crimes” were inaccurate; media accounts should reflect that and underscore the falsity of information they were given.”
Yes, some audience refuse to admit they were wrong and will twist evidence around to fit their narrative, no matter how silly it gets. But for the reporters whose job it is to get the facts straight and carefully vet sources to see if they are reliable enough, they need to own up to their mistakes. It sucks, it is painful, and it is embarrassing (I can speak from experience, though not on that level), but it must be done. Take ownership of their mistakes and correct them. Confront those who gave the wrong information live on-air or have their words in print for all to see. Were they misinformed? Were they lying? Did they have an agenda?
It’s difficult being a journalist, especially when few trust you or will let you do your job. But do your absolute best not to make it more difficult than it already is. Don’t burn any more bridges when there are too many burning already.
I wish my fellow journos luck.
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