I Wonder about...

....The Mind of Today's Journalists

Today I felt compelled to re-post my 1967 Drake journalism school class notes listing the standards we were expected to uphold as prospective news writers and reporters. (See below or here)

That was over 50 years ago but this story from Friday’s Washington Post prompted me to repost it again. The subject of the story (a second provocative flag incident involving Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito) is important, but the fact that Wapo declined — in realtime— to publish this account chills my blood. It’s only now, 3 years later (and after the reporter Robert Barnes retired) that the paper reveals a second incident (really the first chronologically) of hyperpartisanship involving another Supreme Court justice. The reporter, who covered the Supreme Court beat for 17 years declined to print in realtime and erred on the side of protecting rather than reporting. (the stated ‘reasons’ for not publishing are equally as specious as the excuses the Alito family gave for their politically charged displays in the first place)

I don’t have to explain the significance for this audience but for those of us who may not be familiar with journalistic (read: accurate) descriptions of the world: we understand that democracy rests on pillars of trust and diligence. If you can no longer trust in the unique blend of governance and oversight that we enjoy, then the whole experience can go downhill very quickly.

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I wonder about the minds of today’s journalists. Since I haven’t worked in a ‘newsroom’ for decades, someone please enlighten me on this: If a reporter does get a tip (regardless of subject matter) who determines the ‘relevance’ or ‘priority’ of the story? Does the editor decide? Is it a collaboration? Who decides when a potentially controversial story gets published?

At what point does “management” or “legal” get involved in the decision to publish such a story?

Gored ox wants to know: transparent or opaque. Light or darkness. Disclosure or distraction?

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After this… “oh NOW you tell me?” moment, The Post should consider replacing their 9/11-inspired logo (Democracy Dies In Darkness) with something more appropriate, i.e. (Democracy Dies When We Say It Does)

The business-model of News®, like that of the music/entertainment world, has necessarily adapted as time, taste and technology make their mark on culture. As both network news and entertainment divisions began their courtship in the ‘70’s (thanks Roone Arledge) we can look back on 40 years of hindsight to conclude that the resulting product isn’t really good entertainment and we are coming to realize, it’s certainly no way to inform a democracy.

If publications as influential as the wapo and nyt decide to normalize or obscure the aberrant behavior of high public officials then it’s game over for democracy.

1st Amendment-protected journalism is NOT SUPPOSED TO WORK THIS WAY. News-editorials’ core function is to tell us what is going on in government, not taking a press release and a pat on the head. You’re supposed to dig enough to piss them off but Rumsfeld and his ‘embedded’ journalists model, spelled an effective assault on Zenger-type opening the door wide for Pecker-type journalism here.

IANAL (I am not a lawyer) so if I’ve confused you, please refer to this rundown which makes clear the black letter challenges we face.

My hat is off to reporters past and present who wrestle vital information from those in power. Huge thanks to my local role models from the 60’s including late Register reporters Jerry Szumski, Nick Lamberto and Clark Mollenhoff. Let’s not fail to recognize today’s independent local stalwarts including Laura Belin, Randy Evans and Clark Kaufman. I’d like to include my hometown paper but with no Washington bureau, it’s clear that Gannett has no interest in giving us an everyday window into the sausage factory. Kim is ecstatic.

Reposting this again with sincere thanks and a tip ‘o the hat to former Drake J-school Professors like Jack Orwant and Deans from Hugh Curtis to Herb Strentz to Kathleen Richardson.

• After all that, do yourself a favor: Brighten your life with some tasty Iowa-borne music and stories from my friend Shadric Smith Fort Dodge’s favorite songwriter.

…more later…

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Iowa Writers’ Collaborative

Below is a list of the members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please support their work by sharing and subscribing. Paid subscribers are invited to attend real-time events and occasional Zoom calls among our writers. Your support keeps this reader-only supported service going. 

Nicole Baart: This Stays Here, Sioux Center

Ray Young Bear: From Red Earth Drive, Meskwaki Settlement

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Tory Brecht: Brecht’s Beat, Quad Cities

Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, Roundup

Steph Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Arnold Garson: Second Thoughts, Okoboji and Sioux Falls

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Rob Gray: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny

Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilia

Chris Jones, Chris’s Substack, Des Moines

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture,

Bussey Letters from Iowans, Iowa

Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Calhoun County

Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

Alison McGaughey, The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities

Kurt Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Vicki Minor, Relatively Minor, Winterset

Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids

Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines

Macey Shofroth: The Midwest Creative, Norwalk

Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Kali White VanBaale, 988: Mental Healthcare in Iowa, Bondurant

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines