Watching the coverage unfold this past week of the Boston Marathon bombing and subsequent search for the suspects, I can see why so many people in this country are increasingly skeptical of or frustrated with the national news media.
John Kubicek, an editor for buddytv.com, after CNN erroneously reported that suspects were in custody, tweeted April 17, “The FBI just scolded the media. It’s like kindergarten. MSNBC is chasing butterflies, FOX News is biting other kids and CNN is eating paste.”
This made me laugh and grimace at the same time.
I laughed because it was kind of silly, kind of an exaggeration, but also completely spot on at the time. It made me cringe because I was frustrated by the fact every single news organization I follow on Twitter retweeted the CNN story without a second thought. It’s just mindless. It’s part of this rush to be first and verify later mindset which has overtaken journalists to an extent that nauseates me.
Dennis Box and I have talked often about the importance of being right, which at times means waiting to publish news to the web or in our print edition, over the importance of being first. We recognize the competitive, ruthless, cut throat nature of journalism which we don’t always have to deal with because of the communities we cover.
We also recognize that we are reporting on issues or events which impact people’s
families, hearts and souls. It is easy to lose sight of that when the adrenaline of the chase kicks in for a reporter. At times, when covering an event which has wounded our collective pysche as Americans, journalists pursue this more doggedly I think as a coping mechanism. We are in a position where we can do something. And we do — almost blindly.
Katherine Smith and I have spent considerable time watching as well as discussing the coverage of the bombing and subsequent manhunt as it has developed. We’ve tried to contact folks who we were told ran the Boston Marathon but were unsuccessful. I hate to push people who were there to tell their stories but in journalism, even if something happened 3,000 miles away, we have to try and find those local connections because it is part of the job. It’s also a way to help work through the damage done by the perpetrators.
After 13 years in print journalism, I understand why more and more people think my profession is lower than low. Right now, as I type this, I’m listening to a press briefing with law enforcement officials in Boston and rolling my eyes at the reporters and their questions. But I also ask myself what I would do in that situation and wonder if I should be less judgmental of my colleagues trying to cover a massive story on the other side of the country. Perhaps it is easy to criticize.
But, I know what we’ve done when this paper has covered major breaking news stories, and we’ve done everything we could to get it right then get it out. Being first does feel good. It’s a rush. It is not, however, a driving force for us. It is possible to break a story and not be a jerk, to display some compassion. We all make mistakes and I have asked forgiveness more than once for messing up a story, but, nothing on this scale.
I’m sure there will always be people who lump us in with the very same media organizations which chase these stories with the kind of abandon which makes them forget everything they learned in journalism school and on the job. That’s part of this gig.
As a human being, as a journalist, not to mention as a runner who considers the running community family, I’m kind of appalled by the way this story has been covered. And I’ll remember this next time we have to report on tragedy here. It will make us think twice and pursue the story with fairness and accuracy rather than with a goal to be first no matter what.
Reach Assistant Editor Kris Hill at khill@covingtonreporter.com or 425-432-1209 ext. 5054.
