We're reporters, not stenographers
In an earlier post here I lashed out at readers who complain that we fail when we choose not to report every detail from court records that are readily available on the Internet. I tried to explain how we choose what we report carefully, and try to check and verify all information before repeating it in print.
We are reporters, not stenographers, as my colleague over at the Paragraph Factory nicely points out in his own posting on the subject. John McIntyre, on his You Don't Say blog, gives me far too much credit for being eloquent. Mr. McIntyre writes:
A proper reporter does not merely record and publish uncritically the contents of police charging documents or court proceedings or other files, because they may contain irrelevant information or factual accuracies. A reporter judges what is germane and reliable, insofar as his abilities and access to information and officials permit.
Take a look at his post and take the test he provides. It might help you understand how and why we differ from armchair journalists who think they're practicing the trade.
Comments
You can wax poetically all you want about your journalism ethics, but most people are aware that the Sun picks and chooses which facts to publish to allow the reader to draw the conclusions they want the reader to reach. Most people can are able to ignore the racist rants and focus on the few comments that add the details the Sun has chosen not to report.
WBAL and the Patch are starting to pick up the slack anyway, and are providing much more detail. I await the day the Patch starts a city edition.
Posted by: Cham | July 14, 2011 12:39 PM
Cham has a valid point, Peter. Sometimes, the victim's criminal record is relevant to the story. Do you remember the story about the woman from Easton who was carjacked in West Baltimore and temporarily lost her dog? The "victim" had a history of drug and prostitution arrests (including in Baltimore County & City), and she was robbed in a neighborhood that was notorious for drug and violent crime. Her criminal record was relevant to the story because, without this information, it led the reader to believe that the victim was a poor, naive country girl who was randomly targeted- which of course leads to the barrage of "I can't wait to leave this ghetto hellhole" comments and other racist, anti-Baltimore garbage that gets posted in the Sun's comments section.
Posted by: Rusty Shackleford | July 14, 2011 1:17 PM
I think that the problem is most of the people commenting on articles and blog posts feel empowered by the anonymity of the internet and ease of finding primary sources, and cynically look for things to complain about.
When I read through comments, I mostly see people who have either assigned themselves to be the grammer police or editors, criticizing arbitrary details in a post, or else just ranting about whatever their viewpoint on a topic is after only reading a headline and perhaps the first sentence to an article. It's difficult to sort through and find comments from people who actually want to contribute to an intelligent, informed, and thought-provoking discussion.
Posted by: Kerrie | July 14, 2011 2:06 PM
I agree wholeheartedly with the other comments in solidarity with my fellow "armchair journalists" and would like to add another pertinent point. Writing is a creative endeavor that begs criticism, if Mr. McIntyre and yourself can't handle it you should both find another line of work. There are plenty of gifted unemployed writers who would gladly take your jobs. So, if you can't take the heat...
Posted by: inevitable | July 16, 2011 9:04 AM
Crackpot comments on blog entries are no different than crackpot letters to the editor. I take that back, they're easier and more prevalent.
Responsible reporters strive to give a complete story, and responsible editors exist to ensure that their reporters' stories are in the newspaper's best interests (preventing libel suits, for example). Your opinions on these matters are welcome; just keep in mind that newspapers mus still operate as a responsible business. News Corp, anyone?
Posted by: Chris | July 17, 2011 9:51 AM