Jeff Farrell: Journalism basics must be followed



Dec 14,2008


Last week, I had one of those days where my brain was Swiss cheese. For people who know where I lifted that phrase (the old "Quantum Leap" TV show), I expected Dean Stockwell to walk up to me at any time to tell me what I was doing in the body of an overweight reporter in 2008; it was that bad.

So it wasn't a great shock to find out the next day that I had plugged Alderman Jerry Loveday's name into a story instead of Claude Ownby's.

I could say it was just a reminder to concentrate or a lesson in humility; both would be true. I was just glad it was a simple error and not one that could damage a good person's reputation (Claude or Jerry may disagree).

We write about other people's mistakes all the time. It's not something we look forward to or relish. I've covered the "cops and courts" beat at just about every paper where I've worked since graduating The University of Tennessee, and believe me I'd be perfectly happy never to have to write another story about a murder, robbery or fatal wreck.

I'd be glad to try and make news out of meetings where there was no controversy and cities where everyone agreed with all the government's decisions.

Or maybe not. Makes me think of his line from the Matrix:

"Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program."

Reality isn't pretty, and as journalists it's our job to take a daily snapshot of it, warts and all.

In the simplest of cases, it's not easy. When it's someone you like and respect, it's downright painful. I doubt anybody's made a caree r in this line of work without having to choose between protecting a friend's feelings and giving readers the real story. Any of us can tell you it's painful.

But the way most of us sleep at night is by making sure we write the story of a complete stranger's tragedy or mistake the same way we would if it were a close friend or family member. A better way to say it might be that we'd write the same thing if it were a close friend or family member. And, yes, that means that a lot of us have lost friends over the years because of something that went into the paper about them.

Keep in mind, it's always a balancing act. The other side of the coin is that some people expect the news to address any and every rumor they hear.

Not to sound like an old man, but it's only gotten worse with the advent of the Internet, the blogosphere and everything that's come with it.

Go to a message board on sports or city hall and you will see any number of rumors, most posted as fact, along with questions of "Why isn't the mainstream media reporting on this?"

Why? Because we need proof. Because we aren't in the business of ruining a person's reputation based on whispers and speculation. Because our readers count on us to give them the facts we have, and because we're paid to check these things out and confirm them.

And if they aren't verifiable, they don't show up in the paper. If you're looking for us to say "that rumor about Mayor McFly running off with the church raffle money turned out to be false," complete with quotes from your neighbor saying "but I saw him eating at the steakhouse that night," you can keep waiting.

Even when we check a story out, things can be fluid. We might have two independent sources tell us something's set to happen and report it ... only to find out later they were wrong. For example, the week of Thanksgiving I had people with the state Alcohol Beverage Commission tell me no licenses had been issued for liquor by the drink to be sold in Sevierville and non e would be issued that week, only to later find out that two restaurants actually got their licenses that same day.

Everyone is aware that we compete with other media outlets to get stories first. I can tell you that the whole staff of The Mountain Press takes a lot of pride in getting Sevier County residents more information and more accurate information on their hometowns than other outlets, and getting it out there faster than them most of the time.

Basically, I've always thought good journalism comes down to this: Get it right; write it well; do both quickly.

In that order.

As long as we're doing that, I think we're serving the people who buy our paper to the best of our ability.

? Jeff Farrell is a reporter for The Mountain Press. Call 428-0748, ext. 216, or e-mail to jfarrell@themountainpress.com.