To Boldly Go. . .

     The updated Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics tells us to "boldly tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience."

      My first thought upon reading that was: it's a pretty tall order for mere mortals. then, I thought, no, that's exactly what we do. without thinking of it in such lofty terms.

     What I mean is, we see the diversity of the human experience daily. We don't necessarily represent it (although the New Jersey Pro Chapter of SPJ isn't entirely made up of late-middle-aged Jewish men). But we do see it. We write about it. What we need to do is think about it and seek out the subtleties. 

     When we see people, it is often at their worst. It is often intimately. 

     People so often rise to the occasion, but sometimes they don't. We see them in moments of triumph. Moments of tragedy. Moments when they do exactly the right thing. Moments when they plunge headlong into disaster and when they emerge, smiling. 

     It is part of our mission to ferret out the real story. To tell the reader/listener/viewer about the dignity of people they might not otherwise know. 

     And, not to let the great, diverse, messy, crazy public have their lives drowned out by the powerful. 

Meaner Than a Junkyard Dog

Jefferson Garson-Loughran guards his house in Barre, Vermont. Jeffers is a real watchdog. The press are metaphorical watchdogs. But, we like the comparison.










     We are the watchdogs.

      Journalists have a special obligation to ensure the public's business is conducted in the open and that public records are open to all.

     Not an easy task. Many elected officials, even if they are too young to remember them, yearn for the days of smoke-filled rooms. They are nostalgic for the when decisions were actually made in a back room at the local tavern. The days when the parish priest was consulted before every council meeting. When correspondence could vanish without a trace.

     Jefferson said he would rather have newspapers without government than a government without newspapers. He said that because he knew no one else would keep an eye on the government.

     I hope the young people going into journalism today take that obligation seriously.

     Because it is part of our job to know the law better than the average citizen and to keep up with any updates in the law, we have to maintain a close eye on the changes that inevitably take place. We have to keep a close eye on the people who want to subvert the law. These responsibilities are reinforced by the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics which was updated by the members' delegates at the Excellence in Journalism '14 conference.

     We are also called upon by the Code to provide access to the source material we use in writing our stories when it is relevant and appropriate.

     Sometimes only tiny portions of source material we use are relevant. Often much of it is routine, even boring. Our readers would be amazed at how boring. Very often it is a tedious process to sift through the material as we do research.

      People act as if it's a privilege to have information, but what it really is is our responsibility.

 

Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy

The 2014 Spugies -- the NJPro Chapter of SPJ's annual awards reception.We try to recognize the best and we always want to hear "how they did it."

 

     The newly updated Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics contains a section "Seek Truth and Report It," as did the original code and all its subsequent permutations.

     That's the bottom line of journalism.

     Kinda funny to see it in writing.

     That's what we do.

     The section goes on "Take responsibility for the accuracy of the work. Verify information before releasing it. Use original sources whenever possible."

     Again. That's what we do.

     But, who, exactly, are "we?"

     We used to know who "we" were. We were reporters. Maybe we no longer wore fedoras and Lenny Briscoe raincoats. Maybe we no longer carried SpeedGraphix and spit on the lenses to clean them with neckties. But, we still had the same mentality.

     Today? Not so much.

     Some reporters call themselves "journalists." That's a pretty high-falutin' term for some of us. I refer to myself as an "old newspaper lady."
 
     But, although we are not professionals in the sense of being licensed by the state (icky thought), we are professionals in the sense we adhere to standards of conduct. At least we need to.

     And, the first standard is accuracy. Seek Truth and Report It.

     What many of us worry about today is all the people writing stuff and pretending to be professionals who wouldn't know professional journalism if it spun around three times and kicked them in the tush.  They don't write like professionals and they don't behave like professionals.

     In the days when news had to be printed, it was harder to pose as a reporter. Now, when anybody can post on the web, anyone can write pretty-much anything and post it for who-knows-how-many people to see.

     Those actions are dangerous to those of us who are responsible because it damages our credibility. And that's all we have.

     If we lose our credibility, we have nothing. And the public loses because they don't know what they can believe.

     This is why we hope our ethics will be shared by everyone who reports the news.

      We hope, but we aren't always optimistic.

"Will No One Rid Me of This Troublesome Priest?"

Shawn Boberg talks about Bridgegate

 

      In the movie "Becket," which is probably the best of all "buddy movies," Peter O'Toole as King Henry II, fed up with the fact his old buddy, Thomas Becket, is taking being Archbishop of Canterbury really seriously, says, while surrounded by his lords, "will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?"
      That's sort of how I visualize Bridgegate. I'm sure Gov. Chris Christie didn't ORDER his staff to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge, but he probably made it known he wasn't happy with the mayor of Fort Lee. He isn't exactly a shrinking violet.
       And, as for the name, I still prefer Christastrophe.
       There are no fewer than four investigations going on right now, although one is by the governor's office, so I imagine a grain of salt is needed for that, so we may actually find out what happened.
       Whether it is Bridgegate or Christastrophe, Shawn Boberg of The Record gave an overview to the NJPro Chapter of SPJ and guests last Sunday at the Montclair Public Library. This is becoming an NJPro tradition, the big November panel. The veteran journalists on this panel included Matt Katz of the famous Christie comment about wearing orange and putting out cones. The panel was augmented by Jennifer Borg, counsel to The Record.
      The overall topic of the forum was "why do some stories stick?" It does seems as though there are stories that will never die, no matter how hard the people involved are trying to kill them. And some stories that appear really strong at first just vaporize.
     I don't think we solved all the problems this brings out, but we sure did open up a discussion which is sometimes the most important thing.
     Jennifer Borg reminded us we are accountable for presenting the truth, for digging to the bottom.
     The public relies on reporters. We have a great responsilbity.
     And that's why we have these forums.

The First Amendment and High School Students

Every few years some high school administrator decides freedom of the press applies only to those who hold the money.

Sort of a variation on “freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one.”

But the truth is, it is the students who produce the school newspaper. And while no one would argue they need guidance from a qualified adviser, they hold ultimate responsibility for the content.

Students also deserve protection from the same laws that protect their adult counterparts. Freedom of the press does not halt at the schoolhouse gate.

Too often, students don’t understand their rights and their advisers are too intimidated by the administration to help them. This isn’t an indictment of advisers. Often they are young teachers without tenure. Sometimes they didn’t volunteer to advise the school paper, but were just in the right (or wrong) place at the right time. In the past few years, three high school advisers were removed or forced out in New Jersey.

Nobody ever got rich on an adviser’s stipend, but it doesn’t look good for a teacher to lose a gig like that. And these were dedicated people.

Two of the student press freedom problems were the subject of the keynote panels at the Garden State Scholastic Press Association Fall Conference at the Rutgers Busch Campus in Piscataway on Monday, Oct. 27.

In Pemberton, the ancient problem of smoking in the girls’ room was the subject of a story censored by the administration. The school principal insisted the story was not appropriate. Seriously. What is more appropriate? Kids have been violating smoking bans since there have been smoking bans. Other kids, have objected to second hand smoke for just as long. If the student paper can’t tackle that, what’s the point of having a paper?

After some changes were made, and, not coincidentally, after Phil Gianficaro took the school to task in his column in the Glochester County Times, the story was published.

The other issue involved Northern Highlands High School in Allendale. An editor used an anonymous source in a story about an administrator accused of harassment. The GSSPA took the attitude she had the same rights as a professional to use an anonymous source. Not surprisingly, the school held a different opinion.

In the third case, not directly addressed by the Fall Conference, the Hunterdon Central High School adviser was replaced by the school public relations professional. Sure. There’s no difference at all between someone who is paid to make the school look good and a teacher interested in instructing budding journalists.

The two student editors spoke about their fights for freedom to a packed room of students and advisors as well as some of the professionals who participated in Student Press Day.  Both Kylie  Sposato of Pemberton and Adelina Colaku of Northern Highlands spoke eloquently about their conflicts. Gianficaro was also on the panel, as was Frank LoMonte of the Student Press Law Center.

LoMonte worked with GSSPA in the past assisting the group with attempts to codify student press rights in the state statutes. Previous bills, one of which based on a Student Press Law Center model, failed to become law and were not supported by either the NJ Education Association or the NJ Press Association.

What kind of lesson are we teaching our young people?

Freedom of the press doesn’t apply to them? So, what about the other freedoms mentioned in the 45 words of the First Amendment? The only thing these teens can discern is that they don’t apply either.

Kids will screw up. They will make mistakes. That’s why an adviser who understands journalism and understands teenagers is so essential. An adviser who really wants the job and who isn’t given a reason to be scared of the administration.

While working for legislation, the GSSPA is forming an S-GSSPA for students under the direction of long-time GSSPA official John Tagliarimi of Bergenfield. Bringing the students into the mix should help them understand the rights they do have,

Professionals from around the state assist GSSPA at their fall conference which is partially sponsored by The Record. For years the now-defunct New Jersey Press Women provided assistance to the GSSPA and high school journalism advisers, including a program called “Adopt-an-Adviser” which assigned professionals to high school advisers.  In an effort to take up the slack, the New Jersey Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists now has a representative on the GSSPA board.

Pros having students’ backs. As it should be.

John Tagliarimi introduces two former student editors at the keynote panel during the Garden State Scholastic Press Association Fall Conference at Rutgers University, Busch Campus.

The room was packed for the keynote panel. It was the first time the GSSPA had students involved in the keynote.