OK…let me get this out of the way first thing…John Hughes, Editor of the Deseret Morning News is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and I am a Political Internet Blogger Hack.  (Remember, this is just my dumb blog!)  There! Now there should be no misunderstanding as you read this post.  Oh…there’s one more disclaimer just in case this post begins to taste a little like sour grapes.  I have been misquoted or partially quoted or taken out of context in the newspaper before—imagine that!

Perusing the newspapers yesterday morning (the on-line versions–I don’t like getting the offset print ink on my hands), I ran across an article in the Deseret Morning News, written by Elaine Jarvik, referencing remarks made by John Hughes at a local Rotary Club luncheon on Tuesday.  Mr. Hughes’ comments, according to his own paper, which I’m guessing he edited before it went to print (a luxury of being the Editor), centered on his belief that the “newspaper industry will survive even the Internet.”

Further, the Hughes article noted that intense competition between agencies creates an abnormal amount of eagerness between some reporters.  As the intensifying demands of news coverage will…well…intensify, some news reporters and news agencies will “invent,” “manipulate,” “overstate,” or “misrepresent” stories and events—all in an effort to sell “papers” (and advertising, too, I guess).  Mr. Hughes, according to the article, also affirmed that news reporters who don’t report “truthfully” or who “don’t get it straight,” and “betray” their profession, get fired!  Despite the competitive nature and increasing pressure of the industry on their reporters (and Editors) to get it quick and get it right, Hughes believes the “outlook is not all bleak.”

David vs. Goliath

Hughes also warned that anyone can “report” online but “there is no news on the Internet unless there’s a news organization behind it…” **  WOW! That’s quite a statement.  I wonder how Matt Drudge is feeling right about now? or, the good folks down at Utah Policy Daily? (who have professed to doing their jobs in their jammies)…  A statement like that would almost make one believe traditional newspaper agencies feel a little threatened (it’s kind of a reverse psychology thing) by the smaller, lighter-on-their-feet, disorganized folks.  The big boys can’t possibly feel threatened by the “David-like” internet news individuals and groups—can they?!

The Gift of Retraction

Newspaper and television agencies have certainly produced their share of sacrificial lambs as of late—what was that guy’s name?  Dave…no…Dick…no…Dan…yeah that’s it.   Careless reporting should be avoided like the plague.  Yet, fallible professionals will make errors–intentionally or unintentionally (words we like to use in the legislature).   That’s where the “gift of retraction” comes in.  Thank goodness for “the retraction.”  “The retraction” solves everything!  “The retraction” allows the free-press to say nearly anything (protected by the First Amendment) and not have to print a plea for forgiveness in the same location the “mistake” was originally printed.

Some newspaper reporters climb all over themselves to be the first to report the “hot” story—and, sometimes they just don’t get it right.  Sometimes the story just isn’t completely…well…complete.  This is the perfect application of “the retraction.”  Newspapering is a competitive business. And, the “hot” story becomes a means, a vehicle to create popularity within the newspaper industry. And, popularity means a bigger paycheck.  And, we’re all really just capitalists at heart.  Remember, if papers don’t sell, advertisers don’t buy space, and salaries don’t get paid…and…newspapers…well…newspapers become… electronic media.  What a tremendous amount of pressure.  I haven’t even mentioned the excessive pressure created by the ominous “deadline.”  But, I digress…

When newspapers erroneously print the “facts” in their publications, many newspapers  believe it’s their “ethical” responsibility to print a clarification or correction (even though not bound by the First Amendment to do so).  Newspapers do this all the time.  In fact, the Deseret News has printed a clarification or correction 17 times in the last month–some of them inconsequential, others relatively monumental.  Unfortunately, the favorite location in some papers for these retractions or clarifications is in the lower right hand corner of even numbered pages.  Or, in the case of the online version, at the bottom of the left hand column embedded among a cluster of other links (and in relatively small type, too).

Remember, I Haven’t Won a Pulitzer Prize

Newspapers seem restricted and encumbered, to a large degree, by the amount of paper they can produce day-to-day.  After all, you can only stick so much newspaper copy between all that advertising.  But, the internet…ahhh…the Internet has unlimited space and isn’t hindered by the insatiable capitalistic hunger for competing for finite advertising dollars.

Discounting the notion that newspapers are the source of all truth, and that individuals can’t stick to the facts without a fact checker (where’s Joe Friday when you need him), I am convinced inexpensive, readily available personal media resources are the next big advancement in setting the record straight.  In less than a blink of an eye an individual can advance his/her message to the masses without being misquoted, partially quoted, or taken out of context.  And all this is available to the common, ordinary man relatively quick and inexpensive through the wonderful world of electronic, personalized communication—the Internet.  Do you really believe the old-fashioned media doesn’t feel threatened by this?  (They’re still using offset printing.) 

Even the Utah House Democrat Minority has resorted to using a blog to communicate their point-of-view, giving themselves greater flexibility to quickly and accurately define their agenda.  No longer do they have to wait for the next morning’s paper to send their message out.  Type it, hit send and…Zing!  Off it goes.  The only problem…now there’s a permanent record of what you’ve said.  (Right, Ralph?!)  By introducing personalized communication, perhaps they have, to a large degree, alienated the left-leaning newspaper groups by divesting themselves of the liberal media’s companionship.  You’ve served your purpose, now be off with you…

If there’s no longer a demand for front door-stoop delivery by the neighborhood paperboy because the paper’s already sitting electronically on the desk in the den through hundreds of local, state, national, and global media resources, can the good ‘ol boys down at the chronicle compete with the ever increasing, reliable sources for news and information on the web?

We shall see.

** Quoted from the deseretnews.com Wednesday, September 27, 2006, Newspapers will survive Internet, editor says; Jarvik, Elaine
 
[Sorry, for the fine print] Corrections/Clarifications:  The statement by Mr. Hughes should read, “there is no news on the Internet unless there’s a news organization behind it, and that’s generally a newspaper.”  Ahhh!  The Caveat.  Much better.