[Vision2020] Journalistic integrity

[Greg Burton]

  Sorry Dale, you haven't made your points with me.
  Again, let me add the caveat that I am reading the Spokesman's web
version, not the original DNews story. The version I have differs on all
your points.
  1. Never says conference is about slavery. Says book is. Does say slavery
and history will be discussed and Wilson and Wilkins will be doing the
discussing. Again, is this not so?
  2. Carelessness? The version I have is pretty damn well written, allows
Wilson a chance to defend the book, talks to Potok from SPLC, who despite
all the drivel on this list, is regularly quoted by respected news sources
as an expert on hate and extremism. Maybe Alexis made mistakes in the
original version (again, which I don't have) but I'm sure she(he?) cares.
  3. Omission? This is a more subjective point most readers will never agree
on. No story can cover all the bases. Ever attend a P&Z meeting? (snooze ‹
sorry to all you P&Z employees) Lots of critically important stuff happens
at a P&Z meeting, but most people wouldn't care about or understand every
nuance. So, the journalist, as they do with every story, zeros in on the
most relevant (sometimes the most controversial) points and writes a story.
Happens all the time. That's why you ain't reading about what movies are hot
in Israel or what the latest fashion craze is in Iraq.
  As I read the Bacharach story, it's about the controversial work of two
people who may (or may not?) be featured at this History Conference. That's
fair game in my mind and certainly less of a snoozer than Burke, Byron and
Marx, three of the dead old white guys you so thankfully included with your
web link of the conference.
  4. I still haven't seen anything that says the conference will only be
about slavery. If the DNews said so in a headline, then that point probably
should be corrected by the newspaper.
  5. Bias or distortion? The article seemed plenty fair to me. Sanchez got
his say, Wilson his, Potok his, Saperstein his, Muneta hers.
  
  From my vantage point, Christ Church seems to be on everybody's mind these
days and that's reason enough for me to expect that the newspaper should be
ferreting out news and providing context to its readers.

  greg

on 10/28/03 12:36 PM, Dale Courtney at dmcourtn@moscow.com wrote:

> Greg writes: 
>> Further, the "journalistic integrity" slug to this thread
>> is a red herring. The New York Times incident was about
>> integrity and ethics, this seems more like quibbling.
> 
> Greg, 
> 
> I encourage you to read the AP's "Code of Ethics":
> http://www.apme.com/about/code_ethics.shtml
> 
> Under accuracy, it reads: "The newspaper should guard against inaccuracies,
> carelessness, bias or distortion through emphasis, omission or technological
> manipulation. It should acknowledge substantive errors and correct them
> promptly and prominently."
> 
> In this case, Alford missed every one of these points:
> 
> 1. Inaccuracies abound -- First, the History Conference is not, nor has it
> ever been, about slavery. See:
> http://www.christkirk.com/HistoryConferences/9thHistoryConference/Topics.asp
> . Second, there has never been any intent to give a defense of slavery. And
> finally, it is not a UI conference.
> 
> 2. Carelessness (taking an anonymous, inflammatory flier as truth!)
> 
> 3. Omission -- instead of presenting all of the details, only the most
> sensational were printed. Alford decided to print the other half 4 days
> later (he told me so on the phone).
> 
> 4. The errors *still* have not been acknowledged or retracted. Do you not
> think that a head-line article that says a slavery conference will be held
> in Moscow in February (when it's not *about* slavery at all) is not a
> substantive error?
> 
> 5. Bias or distortion -- you'll have to decide for yourself if they were not
> trying to spin this. If not, they should be jumping at the opportunity to
> correct their mistakes. Since they are not...
> 
> Best,
> Dale
> 
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Greg Burton, Senior Editor
Social Justice Desk
The Salt Lake Tribune
143 S. Main Street
Salt Lake City, 84111
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