CBC

cowardice and irrelevance in journalism

/ andyveilleux / 2 Comments

Today a speech by Russian journalist Leonid Parfyonov at a Russian media awards ceremony was brought to my attention. He speaks about the state of Russian journalism, and the lack of a free press in Russia. These journalists are risking their lives to perform their public duty, and here in Sudbury, many journalists and editors don't seem to care either way. I quote (at length), from Parfonov:

"I speak with bitterness, having worked for Russian television full-time or freelance for 24 years. I have no right to blame any of my colleagues: not being a hero myself, I cannot demand heroic deeds from others. But the least we can do is call a spade a spade.  Current affairs programmes on television are doubly embarrassing when compared to the obvious successes of big TV shows and our homegrown school of soap opera. Our television is getting increasingly sophisticated at providing thrills, fascination, entertainment and at making us laugh, but it hardly deserves the title of a civic social and political institution. I am convinced that one of the main reasons for a dramatic fall in viewing figures among the most active part of the population is the fact that people from our circles are saying: why should I turn on the box, they’re not doing it for me!

What is even worse is that most people no longer have any need for journalism.  He got beaten up, so what?  All sorts of people get beaten up these days, so why all this fuss just because of a reporter?  Judging by this type of bewildered response millions of people in our country do not understand that a journalist takes professional risks for the sake of his audience. A journalist does not get beaten up because of what he has written, said or filmed. He gets beaten up because it has been read, heard or seen."

I hear about journalists being threatened and beaten, and sometimes even dying, in their attempts to bring people the truth around the world. At the same time, I watch North American journalism, and become sick to my stomach. Much of it is fat, complacent, and irrelevant. Articles about line-ups at Best Buy, a survey saying Sudburians are happy, and a fluff piece about Cambrian cutting programs run as top stories in the local media.(The Cambrian story is important, but the article is such a College-PR perspective that it's impossible to take seriously.)

These types of stories are what our city has come to expect from our print journalists. Could it be a slow news day? Certainly. However, this is not uncommon. I wish it were. I read an article by a sports editor, which contained at least four major grammatical errors a spell-checker would pick up without difficulty. The citizens of this city, and this country, should demand more of their journalists. what happened to being proud of one's work?

Journalism is a public duty, which is now treated as if it were purely entertainment. It's not meant to be all flashing lights and laughs, it is meant to be hard to swallow at times. I'm not saying journalism shouldn't include features pieces, sports, an entertainment section, or anything besides hard news. I am saying that media personnel have a responsibility to their readers to not simply take a squat over newsprint and publish the results. Quality is important, despite the decline in it we've witnessed over the years.

Around the world we watch journalists dying and being beaten to bring the public the truth. At home, we watch some journalists who are too lazy to get out of their desks to find a good story, and are all too happy to eat press releases and spew out articles that even a student journalist should not be proud of. I wonder what it feels like to look in the mirror. At home, we seem too willing to step onto the treadmills provided for us by public relations and communications professionals. We are unwilling to put foot to pavement in order to dig up real stories.

In Mexico, some journalists are getting shot in the head to report the truth. Locally, we have journalists unwilling to ask difficult questions or take the time to balance their articles, even though they are protected by the force of the law. To put it simply, we have become irrelevant cowards, unwilling to stir the pot, most likely due to fear from corporate masters or flat-out laziness. This is unacceptable. We are failing the public, and failing each other.

Who will speak up for those without a voice if we remain impotent?

Sudbury Star’s failure with the 2010 municipal election and what it means

/ andyveilleux / 35 Comments

To say I am disappointed with The Sudbury Star’s unapologetic stance regarding their “City misled public…” article would be an understatement. The article was released on the Saturday before the election, which took place this Monday, and may have affected the results of the election. This is more than a case of poor timing.

The article begins: “One of the first things this council did four years ago was to authorize senior city managers to mislead the public about the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of a former employee, a Sudbury Star investigation reveals.”

By “Sudbury Star investigation,” they mean brown envelope that mysteriously showed up in their office at the beginning of the week, containing information only employees in City Hall knew.

Marianne Matichuk worked  for the city for 17 years. The Star supported Matichuk in an editorial on Friday, even using her buzz-word in their headline (“Change;” her website is realchangenow.ca, and she’s campaigning on the idea of change in council).

The article has NO sources in it that are current, and did not allow any balance whatsoever. I have a serious issue with their “attempts” to contact John Rodriguez, and any other relevant sources for the article:

“Calls to Stephen and Mieto were not returned. E-mails asking for response sent to Mayor John Rodriguez and all city councillors were not returned.

CAO Doug Nadorozny did respond, asking for more time in order to contact Stephen.”

So you can’t pick up the phone and call John Rodriguez, the man whose campaign you just torpedoed? Don’t give me that. No journalist or paper, with integrity, would launch a story like that at a candidate, and then not even make a decent effort to contact them.

Brian MacLeod, The Star’s Managing Editor, was on CBC’s Points North with Jason Turnbull earlier today, and his interview failed to seriously respond to any of these issues. He defended the article’s timing by revealing how the brown envelope showed up in their office at the beginning of the week.

I don’t know why it would take an entire week to write a story, which did not use any sources, or how in one week’s time a city council reporter as seasoned as Mike Whitehouse could not contact John Rodriguez. Whitehouse is a better reporter than that.

MacLeod also defended the paper’s editorial, stating that they always backed a candidate. I understand their practice of backing a candidate in an election, although I personally don’t believe journalists should publicly back any candidate. I will agree to disagree with that issue.

I am not willing to let their other irresponsible behaviour in this election go, however. When you support a candidate on Friday, and then torpedo her main competition on Saturday, without letting the competition respond, that is inexcusable.

Rodriguez responded to the article, after he was defeated in the election, claiming it was something one would typically see in the southern United States. He is right. It was gutless, and to shrug off his comments as the emotional response of a defeated politician is irresponsible, and childish, but that was the Star’s response anyways.

I was pleased to see Turnbull ask some hard questions about the issue, but it’s not enough to have one interview about it and then let it disappear. As journalists, we must police ourselves when it comes to ethics and responsibility. Most importantly, we must watch for bias.

I agree with Hunter S. Thomson that objectivity is impossible, but that does not mean we can absolve ourselves from the pursuit of it. We must be vigilant to watch our biases do not interfere with our coverage of the news, and be sure not to negatively affect matters we should merely observe and report on.

The Sudbury Star has failed the public, and tried to absolve themselves of responsibility for doing so. It will likely be shrugged off by the masses, but I hope people will take notice of how important a failing like this is to democracy. Their poor judgement may have affected the results of a democratic election, and that is a more powerful failure than any ordinary slander.

Maybe shoddy reporting like this has something to do with the public’s distrust of journalists? (the three links included here are from the UK, USA, and Canada, respectively).

G20 protests: what journalism means for democracy

/ andyveilleux / Leave a comment

Recently, I found myself discussing the media coverage of the G20 protest with Hobb. We both found the media coverage to be shameful, and often useless. Not ALL media coverage, but a great majority of it. There was very little discussion of the Black Bloc, aside from stereotypical, recycled words. Read this article about the group by the Toronto Star entitled "Behind the Black Bloc." The article fails to really dive into anything remotely “behind” the group. What exactly is the Black Bloc? The author doesn’t know.

The author refers to the Black Bloc as a group, “many members of the Black Bloc;” and even as a tactic, “They embraced the Black Bloc tactic.” I understand it’s difficult to define, but pick a reference. The title seems to suggest the author understands it as both. Regardless, let’s get into the article more.

I’d like to share a few quotes with you that I found disturbing: “A Communist group set off a flare, distracting the crowd and police alike — and the mob took off across Queen.” The author later concludes the article by quoting a woman, “Violence just brings more violence,” a woman said into a megaphone as an anarchist set fire to a police cruiser. “What you guys are doing, it’s breaking my heart.” In case you missed it, the Black Bloc is both anarchist and communist at the same time. The author is apparently a little behind on his understanding of politics.

I don't mean to unfairly target the Toronto Star. Their newsroom did a decent job IN COMPARISON with many of the other big newspapers in the country. That assertion is not good enough, however. The CBC did a better job than the TorStar (I can hear the hard-Right grumbling about leftists and communists already, praying for the start of Sun TV), but even it was average at best.

It will take the determination of a solid researcher to dig up the true meaning of the G20 protests in historical and cultural context. It saddens me how badly context is missing in today's media. I read mentions of how crucial the G20 protests (and arrests) were, but it was among mostly obscure media sources. Not altogether surprising, as these obscure sources are some of the only ones practicing real journalism [i.e. journalism as a public duty to protect democracy].

Hobb pointed out a couple of important facts regarding the G20 protests. It was the largest mass arrest in Canada’s History (over 1000 arrested). One foreign journalist commented the detention centre was worse than those kept by Palestinian authorities. There were several instances of “cops gone wild” as he puts it (keep in mind he teaches Crime and Punishment). The extortionist cost of $1 billion dollars for security at the event. How often did you hear these facts reported by the media?

Where’s the investigate journalism? How many cops infiltrated the Black Bloc? I’ve spoken with people who knew some personally, and they were arrested multiple times by the uniformed police. How much damage was done by the Black Bloc and other individuals during the protests? Where were the police during the violent part of some of the protest? Who’s being held responsible for the police inventing a new law to arrest anyone within 5 metres of the fence? Who is being, or has been punished for this undemocratic discretion? Were there any human rights violations from police officers? Was any injured while they were in custody? Talk to a few lawyers (not just the solo one I heard on the news, who comes off as a conspiracy theorist from the quotes I heard), find out if the people arrested have a case.

Journalism has a responsibility to the public to be their watch-dog against authority and the “powers that be.” I keep coming back to a quote by Thomas Jefferson: "Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." The freedom of the press is being challenged by financial constraints, and a lack of trust from the public. The integrity of journalism has been steadily eroding for some time, and it’s leading to a decrease in trust of journalists. Journalists must restore the peoples’ trust in their work, or else democracy will go out the window. I will write at length about the erosion of trust in a later post.