I've written in the past about why newspaper reporters and editors must separate themselves from the news. The profession's ethical standards clearly dictate that journalists must avoid any conflicts of interest -- real or just perceived. But what happens when the newspaper becomes the news?
The Cavalier Daily faced this question last week. On Wednesday, a group of hundreds of members and supporters of the black community -- and specifically the Griot Society -- marched on the newspaper's basement offices in Newcomb Hall to protest an opinion column that had run that morning. It was apparently the largest march at the University in recent memory.
The only mention of the march in Thursday's paper was a lead editorial that lauded the marchers but regretfully explained the staff's reasons for not covering it on their front pages. Although well-intentioned, this was the wrong move.
Having been burned by a previous decision that brought a conflict of interest right to the front page earlier this semester, the Managing Board carefully considered the matter of covering the march. Ultimately, they decided that the paper could not cover the rally objectively because the story was about the newspaper, and so decided to omit it from the front page. And unfortunately for the casual reader -- who probably had no way of knowing the next day about the march -- the lead editorial did not explain what had happened. Granted, I don't live on Grounds, or even in Virginia, but I should have been able to tell from reading that lead editorial what had happened.
Following a Thursday meeting with concerned student leaders, the Board reversed its decision, and a story on the march ran on Friday's front page. A lead editorial the same day explained the paper's reasoning for not running a front-page story on Thursday, and detailed the writing and editing process. A reporter who was not in the office when the marchers arrived there wrote the story, and the editorial process was altered a bit.
The front-page story should have run on Thursday, and it should have been written by a reporter who was there. Further, the editors should have designated a reporter to cover the march as soon as they realized it was a major story -- hopefully, within seconds of realizing how many people were on the paper's doorstep. That reporter could have interviewed the marchers while they were in the office, and provided colorful eyewitness details to fill out the story.
Yes, the reporter would have been writing about his or her own organization. And yes, in other circumstances -- where, for example, the reporter is a fraternity brother writing about his own fraternity -- that would be an unacceptable conflict of interest. But in situations where the newspaper is the story, the need for full disclosure, and for the public to know the news that affects their news source, should trump the potential for perceived bias.
It's common practice for newspapers to run stories about themselves if, for example, they are engaged in Freedom of Information hearings over government documents. (That is a real-life example that applies to two newspapers in Connecticut this year.) In cases like this, the best thing a paper can do is diligently report and fairly write the story. An accurate and fair article is the paper's best defense in the event of an unavoidable conflict.
The Board is scheduled to meet with protest organizers on Monday. Because of the magnitude of the march story, I advise the Board to be open to the possibility that news may "break" during their meeting. That is, the developments that come out of the meeting may merit a story. The board should not, of course, guarantee a story about the meeting.
But in the event that news does occur, they should be open to the possibility of bringing a news reporter into the meeting to interview organizers.
Although the Board initially made the wrong decision, I don't believe its members were operating out of anything other than a desire to serve their readers faithfully. As always, readers should remember that the staff of The Cavalier Daily is learning, just like everyone else at the University. That doesn't mean that they can let mistakes slide, but in running a story about the protest on Friday, they showed that they are willing and eager to correct themselves when they misstep.
(Masha Herbst can be reached at ombud@
cavalierdaily.com.)
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