SURVEYS

Results of the last survey

Are most of your friends journalists?

Of those who responded, 77 percent said their friends were fellow journalists. This reminds me of a famous American television journalist, Eric Sevareid, who was asked at the end of his career who were the most interesting people he had interviewed. He replied, “My fellow journalists.” So it’s not surprising that we like to be with other journalists. I have read about one editor who only associates with fellow journalists for ethical reasons: they are never his sources. He feels that if he has friends who are not journalists they might become sources and place him in an untenable situation.

Do you plan to remain in journalism for the rest of your working life?

We are pleased to report that most of the respondents, 65%, would like to continue being journalists for the rest of their working years.

We had never asked that question before at the International Media Center, but we had asked journalists if they would like their children to become journalists. The responses to that question, asked in six countries in Latin America, are very similar: 60% said they wanted their children to become journalists.

Do you know any reporter who has accepted an invitation by the government of Taiwan to visit the island?

Of those who participated in the survey, 58% knew a colleague who had accepted an invitation to visit Taiwan. I was not surprised, since Taiwan aggressively seeks the support of foreign governments in its battle to remain independent of mainland China. That’s why it sends invitations to the news media. When a reporter is sent, he or she is being used for political purposes.

Increasingly, Latin American media do not accept free trips from sources or anyone else. To do so affects their credibility with their readers, viewers or listeners.

I am reminded of the late director of La Nación of San Jose, Costa Rica, Guido Fernandez, who, during the period of apartheid, reluctantly accepted an invitation to visit South Africa at the insistence of a newspaper’s president. He set a prior condition: a series of interviews. These were arranged, except for one with Nelson Mandela, then imprisoned. He wrote a series of articles denouncing apartheid. He was not invited back.

Do you know anyone who has fabricated a story?

Of those of you who replied, 67 percent knew of someone who had fabricated a news story.

I can’t think of any ethical sin in journalism that is worse than fabricating a news story. It goes against the very essence of journalism.

Yet two prestigious North American newspapers – The New York Times and USA Today – discovered that two highly regarded reporters had fabricated news stories. Jason Blair of the Times was revealed to have been fabricating stories when another newspaper proved he had been plagiarizing. It then turned out that besides plagiarizing he had been investing stories.

USA Today had ignored complaints of other reporters that Jack Kelley, a foreign reporter, has been fabricating stories. It turns out he had been doing it for 12 years.

If the organization for which you work has several outlets, such as for example a newspaper and a radio or TV station, do you have to report for more than one of these media?

Sixty-four percent of those who responded from Latin America said that, besides for their own media, they also cover for other outlets owned by the same company. The same is happening in the United States, where it’s called convergence. Some newspapers even have small television studios in the newsroom so that the reporter can make a TV report after writing his article.

Have you ever traded news stories with a reporter from a competing medium so that you could meet your daily quota?

Just over half (52%) of those who responded acknowledged they had shared stories with a competitor.

If this informal survey accurately reflects the real situation of the media in Latin America, it is troubling, since it indicates that the journalists are overworked and that they don’t have enough time to complete their assignments conscientiously.

It also implies that the media sometimes use stories that originated with the competition.

Should the advertising director go into the newsroom to discuss stories with the journalists?

Ricardo Castro Beeche was the president of the daily La Nación, in San José, Costa Rica, close to 40 years ago.

He issued orders forbidding any department head from entering the newsroom. He did not want the editor to face possible pressure from them to alter or suppress any news story.

After all this time, his insistence that the newsroom be independent from pressure continues as policy in the newspaper.

Of those who responded, 56 per cent worked in media where the advertising manager goes to the newsroom to discuss stories with the reporters.

Should a news photographer pose the participants of a ceremony he arrived too late to photograph?

Most of the participants in the case study –61%– would have simulated the signing after their photographer had arrived late and missed the official ceremony. The remaining 39% would have waited for a print of the official photograph.

What if a clock could be seen in the background? The time would appear different in the simulated photo. What if one of the signers took a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his forehead between the official and simulated signings, but replaced the handkerchief differently? The difference could be noted between the official and simulated signings. What if obviously different pens were used for the two signings?

If any of the above had happened, alert newspaper readers might note the difference and realize that the photographs were taken at different times. Would the simulated signing represented a distortion of reality? Of course.

As great as the posed photo might be, it means the photographer was not acting honestly.

Should the photographer confess to his editor that he arrived late and recreated the signing ceremony? Then it would be up to the editor to decide what to do.

Does a print journalist lose his or her credibility for impartial, balanced reporting if he or she appears as a commentator on radio or television news programs?

By a margin of better than two to one - 71% to 29% - respondents did not think that a print journalist can lose his credibility as an impartial reporter by appearing as a commentator on radio or television.

First, let’s state the arguments for allowing a journalist to appear. The marketing and circulation people think it’s a great idea because it promotes the print media. The editor will probably reason that the better known the reporter is, the greater access he will have to the news. The journalist approves because of the attraction of the broadcast, especially if his appearance represents income.

On the other hand, the journalist will inevitably let the viewers or listeners know what his personal opinion is on the subject being discussed. He might strive in his news articles to be impartial, but his bias will come across when he comments on radio or television. His bias will put in doubt the impartiality of his news articles.

A couple of days ago three of us discussed this very issue over a beer at a nearby tavern. One of my colleagues said he believed that U.S. newspapers and magazines started to lose their credibility when their reporters were allowed to voice their opinions on radio and television.

I agree.

Results of previous surveys

Do you think a journalist should be allowed to seek an elected political post while remaining at his media?

By a margin of 81 to 19%, respondents on the Spanish page said no, while those on the English page also said no, but by a lesser margin, 63-37%.

As someone who has given workshops on ethics to journalists in 14 Latin American countries, I’m delighted with the results because this division between journalism and politics is not traditional everywhere in the region. In Venezuela, for instance, it was very common in the pre-Chavez era for media executives and members of the Colegio de Periodistas to hold seats in Congress, where they continued to debate the issue of colegiatura, or colegiación. Neither side saw any conflict of interest between their role of journalist and that of elected politician.

The tradition in Colombia is just the opposite. Those seeking political office sever their relationship with the news media. This extends to appointment to government posts. When a member of the Santos family, owners of El Tiempo, was named a cabinet minister, he left the newspaper’s board of directors. When the husband of Poly Martinez, at the time editora internacional of El Tiempo, was named ambassador to Cuba, she resigned her post, even though she had not planned to move to Havana. She felt there would be a conflict of interest in selecting news related to Cuba.

The ethical issue, of course, is one of credibility. If a journalist becomes identified with one political party, his or her news coverage will be suspect.

Would you willingly work for a female boss in the newsroom?

By a margin of three-to-one, respondents said they would happily work under a woman boss.

Women currently make up nearly half the staff in some newsrooms. There have always been women in top positions in newspapers in Latin America, but they have tended to be the daughters of the owners.

Now, women are holding top posts on their merit. This is –or was– the case with newspapers in such cities as Lima, Caracas and Monterrey, Mexico, among others.

If a source asks for confidentiality, do you advise your editor?

Of those who replied, 83% said they do not consult with their editor when a source asks for confidentiality. The other 17% consult. A reporter can avoid possible problems by consulting.

Does your news organization provide you with camera equipment or do you have to supply your own?

59% of respondents use their own photographic equipment, and the remaining 41% are provided with company gear.

Does your media company have a written ethics code?

Among those who replied to the survey, only 19% said yes, 81% said no.

Our surveys are not scientific, of course, but that percentage is about what our experience visiting newsrooms led us to expect: Approximately one in five media have a posted ethics code.

It would be nice if there were a code of ethics hanging on the wall in every newsroom as a reminder to the journalists —and to visitors— that ethical behavior is company policy.

But what is most important is that the individual have his own unwritten code of ethics on which he acts, even though he might have colleagues who are not so ethical.

Does your media have a dress code?

We were surprised to learn that 34 percent of Latin American journalists who responded said their employers have a dress code. From our experience visiting newsrooms in Latin America, we would have bet the number would have been much smaller.

We are sure many media require their reporters to wear a coat and tie when covering the legislature or the courts, for example.

We would like to hear from those of you who answered in the afirmative. Please give us more details on the dress code in effect in your media. Send by e-mail to:

virtuej@pulso.org

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA CENTER, MIAMI, FLORIDA