A blog post by one of my former professors, Barbara Selvin, spurred a lot of debate last week.
Professor Selvin wrote about some of the hurtles Stony Brook School of Journalism students need to go through in order to navigate the University Media Relations department. A response from Interim Media Relations Director, Lauren Sheprow, caused an uproar in student, former student, professional journalist and student media responses. One thing I think members of both sides of the argument failed to recognize was that a journalist is always a journalist.
One specific statement, made by a member of the SBU Media Relations team, who chose to remain anonymous under the display name “SBU Media Relations,” read
“This stream is about the Media Relations department and students attending classes and completing assignments in the School of Journalism. Not reporters.”
It was written in response to a statement another self-proclaimed “working journalist” made which said that media relations personnel need to be attentive to the requests of reporters.
One of the courses taught at Stony Brook is Journalism 24/7 which discusses journalism in the digital age. One of the things discussed is user generated content and citizen journalism. The two topics are used to highlight the fact that there is no reporter’s ‘license’ or ‘certification.’ Having a degree in Journalism does not make someone a reporter and lacking one does not mean they aren’t one.
Matt Drudge worked as a clerk at 7-11 and on a farm with his father before he started aggregating news on his web site The Drudge Report. Why is that significant? Well, Drudge, without the use of a press pass, camera or a journalism degree, broke the Clinton Sex Scandal. Oh yea… and Stephen Colbert attended Northwestern to become an actor. How many people would you say get their news from him today?
For those who still look to argue the point, other news organizations recognize J-School students as reporters as well.
In 2008, Stony Brook had a day filled with press coverage after a cafeteria worker falsely reported the presence of a firearm in the Student Activities Center dining area. News12, ABC, 1010WINS and representatives from every campus media outlet covered the campus looking for answers. I had spent the morning following officers in and out of buildings with a camera. An ABC reporter picked my brain about what I had seen and my information sources and then interviewed me. CBS reporter Ti Hua Chang tracked down my cell phone number to ask for the footage I had shot that day (all of which was shot with SBU-TV equipment and campus regulations prohibited me from releasing it… the last time I ever made that mistake) and 1010WINS reporter Mona Rivera and I met for the first time when she picked my brain about the sources I had spoken to that day.
Just a couple of weeks ago WPIX reporter Rob Hoell called me for information and footage from a HazMat incident in an SBU dorm building. I told him I had graduated and passed him along to the Stony Brook Independent, who, from what I understand, helped him out. If the pros look to treat J-School students the way they would their affiliate counterparts what other evidence should a media relations department need to believe J-Schoolers are the real deal?
Still not convinced? Students working for the student-run Stony Brook Independent broke the story about a MRSA outbreak on campus, The Stony Brook Statesman was the first to report that Stony Brook University PD was altering crime statistics and the Stony Brook Press has been around so long it is pointless to name just one story revealed by its reporters.
To that end, trained journalists are just that… trained. At Stony Brook, a J-Schooler’s first class is News Literacy, where each and every student learns about transparency and accountability and cannot progress on to their first reporting class until they demonstrate a strong understanding of each. One can understand wanting to remain anonymous while publicly lashing out at someone who could make their academic life difficult, but a reporter must be willing to stand behind anything and everything they do. That is why we think very hard about each and every idea we put on a page, in a voice over or in a blog post.
Any reporter who commented on Professor’s Selvin’s blog should have thought carefully about what they were writing, tried to be objective and signed their name. We use our skills to unveil the truth and that is how we bring about change. But not signing a name takes weight off of the post because it lacks an identity.
A reporter goes through a great deal of thought before granting a source anonymity. In fact, generally speaking, a source will only be granted anonymity if revealing their identity poses a significant threat to their well-being. It has to do with credibility. Think about it… how much credence do tabloid quotes like “A source close to Aniston says…” really get? If reporters put their sources under that much scrutiny shouldn’t we hold ourselves to at least the same standard?
In my first week at Newsday my editor, Carl Corry, reminded me twice of things I needed to change on my Twitter account. Nothing bad, but things that were no longer accurate. My profile read ‘multimedia journalist’ and my web site was http://www.tc-mccarthy.com. No more. I am now a community journalist for Newsday.com and my web site is http://www.newsday.com/towns. I made those changes to my personal Twitter account because I don’t have two identities. There is no ‘reporter hat’ that I take off when the clock strikes 6. I am always a Newsday reporter and I must conduct myself as one at all times.
J-Schoolers, act like pros 100 percent of the time. Doing that and reporting what you have to will instill change… if you stick to your guns it will happen. Media Relations, J-Schoolers aren’t going anywhere and Stony Brook in particular is growing rapidly in popularity. If you don’t treat students like you would a professional reporter this battle and your headache will only get worse.
Remember all… in the history of the U.S. shoddy reporting has never resulted in significant change and no governing entity has ever been able to stifle the press.
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