Journalism as it stands now
Here is what Rathergate and the Newsweek story have done.
Journalists and their credibility are now in question. Not just the journalists that wrote the story in Newsweek, not just the producers who sent the National Guard story to air, but all journalists.
As a writer, the worst thing that can happen to you is to get a story wrong. Yes, you may miss a name, you may miss something important. You may write a bad story.
But the worst thing is to send a story to print (or air) only to find out that the story was incorrect.
When a news story is written, that should be the final word. This is what happened. Period. There is no room for discussion, question, whatever. These are the facts.
What I think is happening now is that the people will look at a cover story, look at a news program, and ask themselves "Are they sure about this?"
This is a high horse I'm riding, given my line of work. I am already having visions about the sports story I wrote tonight coming back with holes in it.
If I sent a story to print and found out that I had miscounted how many hits or how many strikeouts a team had, I'd feel bad. But I got the important part, (who won, who lost, the gist of the game) right. I could go on writing, albeit with an understanding that I am already straining the reader's trust in me.
But, if say, I had a story that could potentially ruin someone's life, I'd make sure the story was accurate. I'd have it backed up 20 times to make sure I wasn't overstepping of falsifying. But the thing is, all these things are already known by the journalists in question.
So how is it that we are getting retractions on these stories?
I don't know, and I'm sure they don't either.
At least in hindsight.
This is not a condemnation or a show of support. This source is not in position to give either.
But there is a carryover effect. There is a "boy who cried wolf" effect. CBS realized many viewers could no longer trust Dan Rather, so he had to go. But it didn't exonerate or extinguish the story or the doubt that now exists.
My point is that when someone reads something in the newspaper or magazine, and it's "The story," there should be no room for question or doubt.
There's a difference between a fact and a story.
My observation is that the doubt that has been created will be with the industry for a long time, in every aspect.
If I stay in this business, it's likely that I will screw up. Lord knows I have a few times. But I'd hope that the readers have faith that what I'm writing is the truth. The truth is my responsibility. If I ever violate that responsibility, then I have let not only myself, but the whole industry down.
Not to mention the audience.
That's why, among other reasons, these stories are so concerning.
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Now lets see how many mistakes are in this post.