Politics falter in light of Haiti earthquake
At least two big stories drew a lot of national and international attention last week: The continued struggle of the Haitian people to recover from a devastating earthquake and the election of Republican Scott Brown to the Massachusetts senatorial seat held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy for almost half a century.
Some version of the Haiti story was on the front page of The Enterprise several days. Brown’s election to the senate made page 6B on Wednesday, the day after his election.
A few of our readers accused us of everything from poor news judgment to outright political bias.
We think neither is the case, for a number of reasons.
We recognize that Scott Brown’s election to the Kennedy seat was a shock in a heavily Democratic state and that the new Republican senator will sway the balance of power in the Senate. We realize how important that is. That’s why the headline on the story said, “Republican wins Kennedy seat.” That’s also why it was more than a paragraph on that page, as any other senate election in an East Coast state would have been.
Do we think it’s a mandate on the Obama administration? Maybe, maybe not.
Do we think it’s a mandate on the proposed health care legislation? Maybe, maybe not.
Do we think that in the 2010 elections that the Republicans will take over both the Senate and the House? Maybe, maybe not.
We’re journalists. That means it’s our job to report, not speculate, though we’re certainly not above quoting speculators as long as we represent as many points of view as possible.
But for the most part, those kinds of speculations represent opinions, which belong on our opinions page rather than on our news pages.
So we reported Scott Brown’s election to the senate in a more than 15-inch story on page 6B with the other state, national and world news.
It wasn’t earth-shattering. It wasn’t world changing. It was worth reporting, but it didn’t belong on the front page.
Complaining readers already were very clearly informed on the outcome of the election and had very clear opinions of its significance, which is why they said they thought it was underplayed.
Obviously they, and other like-minded readers, were already thoroughly versed on the outcome and already had formed opinions.
That just makes us more sure that we shouldn’t use front-page space to tell readers what they already know or ratify their opinions of what’s important.
Results of presidential elections are front page news because they have a greater likelihood of actually having an effect on people who live in Southeast Texas.
Other than those presidential elections, for the most part, only local elections make our front page. We are a local newspaper.
So what about Haiti?
I dare to venture a guess that more individuals in Southeast Texas watched reports on the earthquakes in Haiti, made a donation to relief efforts, helped their church package and ship supplies to the devastated country, or read stories and viewed photos of that event than read the entire Scott Brown story on page 6B Wednesday.
Haiti is about people, and Southeast Texans in general cares much more about people than they do politics.
We plan to continue covering both, but not every story can be on the front page.
It’s our job to make those news judgments and we continue to stand by the ones we made in these situations.
• • •
Turning the focus to Haiti, I came across some interesting stories last week about journalists in Haiti.
Just as journalists cover wars and weather events, they are called upon to report on disasters such as the Haiti earthquake.
Generally, journalists are mandated to be observers, not participants. The thought is that we cannot legitimately report on something with which we have any personal involvement.
That sounds like a good plan, until you consider journalists who are also doctors who are then dispatched to Haiti to cover the story.
Their role as doctors requires them to assist with medical issues. Their role as journalists requires them to be observers. As human beings, they can’t step away and not help people in need.
Yes, it is a violation of traditional journalistic standards, but there’s nothing traditional or standard about the situation in Haiti.
Some version of the Haiti story was on the front page of The Enterprise several days. Brown’s election to the senate made page 6B on Wednesday, the day after his election.
A few of our readers accused us of everything from poor news judgment to outright political bias.
We think neither is the case, for a number of reasons.
We recognize that Scott Brown’s election to the Kennedy seat was a shock in a heavily Democratic state and that the new Republican senator will sway the balance of power in the Senate. We realize how important that is. That’s why the headline on the story said, “Republican wins Kennedy seat.” That’s also why it was more than a paragraph on that page, as any other senate election in an East Coast state would have been.
Do we think it’s a mandate on the Obama administration? Maybe, maybe not.
Do we think it’s a mandate on the proposed health care legislation? Maybe, maybe not.
Do we think that in the 2010 elections that the Republicans will take over both the Senate and the House? Maybe, maybe not.
We’re journalists. That means it’s our job to report, not speculate, though we’re certainly not above quoting speculators as long as we represent as many points of view as possible.
But for the most part, those kinds of speculations represent opinions, which belong on our opinions page rather than on our news pages.
So we reported Scott Brown’s election to the senate in a more than 15-inch story on page 6B with the other state, national and world news.
It wasn’t earth-shattering. It wasn’t world changing. It was worth reporting, but it didn’t belong on the front page.
Complaining readers already were very clearly informed on the outcome of the election and had very clear opinions of its significance, which is why they said they thought it was underplayed.
Obviously they, and other like-minded readers, were already thoroughly versed on the outcome and already had formed opinions.
That just makes us more sure that we shouldn’t use front-page space to tell readers what they already know or ratify their opinions of what’s important.
Results of presidential elections are front page news because they have a greater likelihood of actually having an effect on people who live in Southeast Texas.
Other than those presidential elections, for the most part, only local elections make our front page. We are a local newspaper.
So what about Haiti?
I dare to venture a guess that more individuals in Southeast Texas watched reports on the earthquakes in Haiti, made a donation to relief efforts, helped their church package and ship supplies to the devastated country, or read stories and viewed photos of that event than read the entire Scott Brown story on page 6B Wednesday.
Haiti is about people, and Southeast Texans in general cares much more about people than they do politics.
We plan to continue covering both, but not every story can be on the front page.
It’s our job to make those news judgments and we continue to stand by the ones we made in these situations.
• • •
Turning the focus to Haiti, I came across some interesting stories last week about journalists in Haiti.
Just as journalists cover wars and weather events, they are called upon to report on disasters such as the Haiti earthquake.
Generally, journalists are mandated to be observers, not participants. The thought is that we cannot legitimately report on something with which we have any personal involvement.
That sounds like a good plan, until you consider journalists who are also doctors who are then dispatched to Haiti to cover the story.
Their role as doctors requires them to assist with medical issues. Their role as journalists requires them to be observers. As human beings, they can’t step away and not help people in need.
Yes, it is a violation of traditional journalistic standards, but there’s nothing traditional or standard about the situation in Haiti.
posted by Sheila Friedeck at 3:26 PM
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