Tag: journalism

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Assange Indicted

Julian Assange, the notorious publisher of Wikileaks, exposer of secrets, and champion of whistle-blowers has been booted from the Ecuadorian consulate in London where he had been provided political asylum for the past seven years. His crime? Besides his poor personal hygiene, the famous hacktivist is accused of hacking the email account of his landlord, the president of Ecuador.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange arrested in London.

Now that he is in custody of the UK police, he will likely be extradited to the US to stand trial for his participation in the hacking of military computer systems. Aiding and abetting Pvt. Bradley/Chelsea Manning in his/her hacking of a Defense Department computer to gain access to secrets about the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq may be just the first round of indictments for Assange. But before that can happen Assange, an Australian citizen, would have to be extradited to the US. According to reporting in USA Today, “The U.K. courts will need to resolve what appears to be an unprecedented effort by the United States seeking to extradite a foreign journalist to face criminal charges for publishing truthful information,” said Barry Pollack, the U.S.-based lawyer who represents Assange.

Whether there are additional charges may depend on whether US law enforcement officials believe they can convince the courts that Assange is NOT a journalist and was not acting in a journalist capacity. If he IS a journalist, the chances of gaining convictions for procuring and publishing state secrets are greatly diminished. But if Assange cannot find protection under the cover rightly afforded to journalists he might spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Supermax may not feel much different than the past 7 years holed up in a room in the Ecuadorian consulate.

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Journalism after the Mueller Report

The highly-anticipated Mueller Report is finally out with a finding of no collusion by President Trump and his staff. The other charge, obstruction of justice, does not have sufficient evidence for it to be pursued at this time. According to USA Today, here are some stats:

  • 34 individuals indicted (for crimes unrelated to the collusion narrative)
  • 2,800 subpoenas
  • 500 search warrants
  • 500 witnesses
  • $25 million in costs

For some journalists and partisans the news was a great disappointment after years of speculation about the fate of President Trump. For others it was final vindication of the charges that the investigation was a “witch hunt” and a conspiracy theory resulting in years of “fake news.”

The question remains: did the national press fail by engaging in reporting that went too far to advance a story that did not, in the end, have merit? According to Fox News analyst Brit Hume, “It is the worst journalistic debacle of my lifetime and I’ve been in this business about 50 years. I’ve never seen anything quite this bad last this long.” Others argued that the run up to the Iraq War was a greater failure for the press.

In both cases partisan biases were motivating factors and failures to stick to the facts led many to speculate about things that turned out to be untrue. The end result was a loss of credibility and a growing level of distrust by news consumers. News credibility depends of a perception of trust…and if you lose that you’ve lost any pretense of value and reason for existing.

According to the AP, Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi “suggested several reporters and commentators connected too many dots that didn’t add up” and said that “nothing Trump is accused of going forward will be believed by a large segment of the population.” That is just one of the many risks of getting swept up in the moment when your job requires that you keep your biases in check.

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Without Journalists

I’ve been asking students in the Media & Society class to think about the future of newspapers/journalism/truth…in an age of smart phones and social media. As suspected, few read a newspaper and most get their news from their phones. That’s to be expected and there are many reasons why newspapers are fading into obscurity. But I’m constantly reminded that news reporting and journalism can not, and must not, die alongside newspapers. Here’s why…

Wondering about the future of journalism…

Without journalists we wouldn’t know that celebrities and wealthy business executives were involved in a scam to get their kids into elite universities. Fake test scores, made-up athletic achievements, and even photoshopped pictures of these kids were used to bribe coaches and administrators, and in so doing deprive worthy students of their seat at the table.

Without journalists we wouldn’t know what happened when a group of kids from a Catholic high school were confronted by a group of Black Hebrew Israelites and Native American protesters on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. We might have heard a rumor or one person’s interpretation of what happened, but we wouldn’t have found out how it really went down.

Without journalists we wouldn’t know that Michael Jackson and R. Kelly have dark pasts and that swirling allegations of child sexual abuse may finally be brought to light and justice may finally be served.

Without journalists we wouldn’t know about the opioid epidemic, the risk that black mothers face in childbirth, and the horrific rise of teen suicide among Native Americans.

Without journalists we would only know what people in power want us to know…and that is a recipe for…disaster/dictatorship/destruction.

But we’re in a strange place where we know that we need journalists and journalism, but we can’t figure out how to pay for it. We’ve been free-riding on the backs of legacy media systems that are failing…and the rising role of digital platforms like Google and Facebook has not held out much reason for hope. But one thing is certain…we need to figure it out soon, or we’re going to pay a much steeper price in the future. If you think gaining knowledge is expensive, wait until you see how much ignorance costs!

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Job Outlook for Journalists

The job outlook for journalists has been rather depressing lately with recent layoffs at major newspapers and news websites such as Buzzfeed and Vice. But a new report in Recode, using data from LinkedIn, suggests it may depend on how you define a journalists.

Using more expansive definitions of journalism, the data suggest that job titles have morphed in such a way that the journalism skill set is sometimes applied in the service of jobs that fall outside of traditional journalistic categories.

According to the Recode article, “LinkedIn’s data includes anyone whose title was journalist — or a wide range of related titles like newsletter editor, news director, reporter — regardless of where they work. Common skills emerging among these journalists include data analysis, digital marketing, and Adobe Premiere and Illustrator.”

While the outlook is still uncertain, being nimble and willing to work in new and emerging markets using a flexible skillset may be the difference between finding your passion and making passion fruit smoothies at Starbucks.

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Billionaire Sex Scandal: “Enquiring” Minds Want to Know

Jeff Bezos owns Amazon and the Washington Post newspaper (aka the WaPo). The amazing success of the first company allowed Bezos to buy the second one. But all is not rainbows and unicorns for the richest man in the world. Bezos is divorcing his wife of 25 years after engaging in an illicit affair with Lauren Sanchez, a TV news reporter. But wait, there’s more…

NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 08: The New York Post with a headline referring to Jeff Bezos is photographed at a convenience store on February 8, 2019 in New York City. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon is accusing David J. Pecker, publisher of National Enquirer, the nations leading supermarket tabloid, of extortion and blackmail. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Pictures and text messages from the affair were leaked to the National Enquirer, whose CEO, David Pecker, is a long-time friend of President Trump. In case you didn’t know, there is no love lost between the President and Bezos, largely because of the critical coverage of the Trump Presidency by the WaPo.

Now AMI, parent company of the National Enquirer, is being accused by Bezos of blackmail and extortion for threatening to release more lurid photos unless Bezos backed off from going after AMI. If this isn’t all strange enough, there’s even speculation that Sanchez’s brother may have been the one who leaked the photos.

Tabloid newspapers found in supermarket checkout aisles have always trafficked in sensational and unseemly “news” especially those stories involving celebrities, money, and sex…and this story has it all. Add a little political intrigue with the Trump connection and you have a perfect fire-storm of scandalous gossip masquerading as journalism.

This may not be the kind of journalism that the Founding Fathers wanted to protect when they wrote the First Amendment, but it still benefits from its protections. Media history buffs may recall James Thomson Callender, a scandalmonger whose attacks on our earliest Presidents led to the Sedition Act. According to the Digital History website, “Attacked by his critics as a ‘traitorous and truculent scoundrel,’ Callender defended himself on strikingly modern grounds: that the public had a right to know the moral character of people it elected to public office. Although he has often been dismissed as a ‘pen for hire,’ willing to defame anyone, Callender was much more important than that. His life underscored one of the most radical consequences of the American Revolution. The Revolution ensured that ordinary Americans would be the ultimate arbiters of American politics.”

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Not Letting Your Labels Define You

An interesting article in High Country News raises an interesting issue for reporters who are working in an increasingly divisive political environment. In this particular case it is the question of whether a news reporter’s decision to wear Patagonia apparel is a political statement that undermines her perceived objectivity.

Now before you roll your eyes here’s some background. Reporters for credible news operations have historically distanced themselves from anything that might allow their readers/listeners to question their objectivity. We all recognize that reporters are human and they have inherit biases, but part of being a reporter is being aware of one’s biases and taking precautions to minimize them. Whether you work for a conservative or liberal news outlet you are expected to present yourself in a way that minimizes questions about your objectivity, and maximizes the appearance of fairness. After all, news organizations at both ends of the political spectrum claim to be fair and balanced.

Patagonia jacket with blacked-out logo
Labels are statements

So what’s up with wearing a Patagonia jacket while covering hard news? Well, last year during the run-up to the midterm elections Patagonia–which has always been an outspoken defender of environmental causes–took the additional step of endorsing two liberal candidates who were in contentious battles with more conservative candidates. While some businesses outwardly endorse political candidates and show their true colors, most take care to try to appear apolitical. After all, if your business is selling widgets, you don’t want to alienate potentially half of your customer base.

As the article points out, a journalist wouldn’t wear an NRA hat or a Greenpeace t-shirt and one can easily see how these “brands” could be seen as taking a political side. Are clothing brands any different? And if not, should a news reporter steer clear of the appearance of bias?

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