Paul Steiger of Pro Publica on emerging ethical issues
Paul Steiger of Pulitzer Prize winning Pro Publica raised ethical issues generated by the rise of journalists using social and new media today at the Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop.
Among the issues Steiger raised (and can easily be discussed in terms of scholastic media):
• The blurring of the lines between fact and opinion
• The ability to gather facts is not as universal as the ability to share them
• Truth in labeling is not a best practice, it is an ethical imperative; it must be clear whether something is fact or opinion
• It is easier to get people to click on views they agree with than it is to get them to respond to facts
• Tension is growing between the responsibility toward civic engagement and public service and the quest for audience and branding
• The race to publish can and does lead to factual atrocities
• Mania for increasing pageviews brings us Hollywood trivia posing as news or crowding out news
Steiger said there is a big danger of going too far in masking entertainment as news or using satire, entertainment, etc., as news. One has to be sure “the narrative does not take over the journalism,” of forgetting the mission. The challenge is to not let one crowd out the other.
In short, he said, the values that guide us….public service, accuracy, commitment to fairness, use influence to help those who need it…..need to endure no matter the platform and no matter what business models we develop for the future.
Steiger’s complete comments will be available later today.
Read MorePoynter’s making sense of information
Poynter’s Kelly McBride talked about Poynter’s Making Sense study of media this morning at the Poynter-Kent State Media Ethics Workshop. You can find a lot of usable information from this session at the workshop’s website.
Some key points:
• 31 percent of people say they want news from outlets with which they share a point of view
• 49 percent say they prefer news from sites with no discernible point of view
• Checks and balances are being created for fifth estate media distortion and misinformation which has a growing potential to become the “Big Lie.”
Video of all sessions will be available as the day continues, and live streaming is available now.
Read MoreEthics workshop available Sept. 16 via streaming video
Kent State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication will host the Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop Thursday, Sept. 16, available as streaming video as well as live.
The event also will be available to viewers on mobile devices. All participants can contribute to the workshop discussions and ask questions of speakers via Twitter.
Workshop information is posted at the Next Ethics site now. Your and your students can access the streaming video at the same site Thursday.
Participants include Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post, Adrian Holovaty, developer of EveryBlock, Paul Steiger of Pro Publica and others.
Questions for discussion and lesson plans for scholastic journalism programs will be available starting Wednesday. There are also links to similar programs from the last two years. Additional lesson plans will be available next week and will be based on workshop sessions.
Event coordinator and assistant professor Jan Leach said scholastic journalists can benefit from participating no matter what media they use now, or might in the future.
Read MoreAnd now for something…untrue
Even though the “Great Roethlisberger Hoax” is history, parallel effects could be long-lasting.
What will happen to fact-checking, verification and synthesis in print media – and online – in the future? After all, there are some who would argue that journalism’s use of social media creates a new standards.
The need for speed outweighs the need for accuracy.
Scholastic journalism has had its own version of the hoax in the April Fools issues each year. I hate to think what could happen it they go online.
Credibility and integrity are at the heart of this incident, and NPR’s On the Media made the incident the focus of its Sept. 3 show. Wise defends his intent, which he said was to show that far too many “journalists” would pick up and repost his “scoop.”
Listen or read the transcript of the show. It is well worth your – and your students’ – time now, and maybe even again in April because it speaks to issues raised by legacy media and the potential for their rebirth online.
(For more information, go here and here).
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