SEARCH
Give Me Dirty Laundry |
|
 |
|
Have you caught yourself watching a story on a national or local newscast lately and thought, “Wait a minute haven’t I seen this before?” or “That’s pretty one sided.” Or, “That might as well have been a company press release.”
More than likely your instincts were right. According to a new study and survey of broadcast news by the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), the quality of broadcast news is rapidly declining and most of the blame is directly attributed to a frenzy of corporate cost-cutting.
The report, Broadcast Newswriters Speak About News Quality, says:
The conglomerates have slashed jobs overall, converted full-timers into part-timers and combined jobs. The result is too many conflicting demands on the few workers who are left, resulting in a lower quality news product.
The study also finds there’s one weapon to preserve quality news: a union contract. The paper cites instances in which employees refused to air news that was not fact-checked or was incorrect. Their union membership protected their right to refuse management’s insistence to air these inaccurate news stories.
The study is based on in-depth research by the union and a survey of its members working in TV and radio broadcast news on the national and local levels. WGAE newsroom members are producers, writers, assignment desk editors, copy, audio and video editors and researchers and fact checkers.
Calling the drop in news quality “staggering and disturbing,” WGAE President Chris Albers says:
This paper details what our members have been telling us for a long time—that corporate pressures to cut costs are negatively impacting their ability to bring the public objective high quality news.
Among the reasons for the declining quality of news, according to the study, are:
- Recycling of news is becoming more commonplace as fewer newsroom employees mean fewer stories being developed on a daily basis. With fewer stories produced, they must be repeated more frequently to fill an increasing mount of available air time.
- Increased job responsibilities have made research and fact-checking low-priority tasks in most newsrooms. Because many employees now handle two or three job functions, there is little time for research and fact-checking to ensure accuracy before a story is put on air. The paper quotes one news employee as saying, “Quality is the first thing that is expendable…never mind going beyond a Wikipedia bio.”
- There is a dramatic and growing shift away from hard news to more lifestyle/ entertainment or “infotainment” news. The paper quotes a CBS news writer saying “We take a lot of stuff from Entertainment Tonight. We watch it at 6:30 and decide what to use.”
- There a growing use of Video News Releases (VNRs)—one-sided, point-of-view press releases from both private and government sources.
The study cites several examples of where newsroom workers with union protection stood up for quality journalism:
Guild members told us many stories about their experiences standing up to managers on issues of news quality. Several recalled protesting the proposed use of VNRs, including pieces touting miraculous new pharmaceuticals and the “health benefits” of ale (courtesy of the Guinness brewery). Without union protection, there might be far fewer of them still in newsrooms and protecting news standards.
Click here to read the full report of Broadcast Newswriters Speak About News Quality.
3 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
I am reminded of the the 5 W’s and the ‘How’ when I was learning how to write a decent and effective paper in school. What ever happened to that in regards to how some ‘journalists’ tout the news (although I have to acknowledge that sometimes they are given no choice). Thank goodness for the WGAE and other unions and groups that support high quality journalism, and still believe how important the truth is. I continue to read newspapers, and listen to the news on television, but I realize I have to be discerning and smart when I decide just what I can and should believe. I, too, am sick and tired of the infomercial/entertainment mentality of what represents news today. Perhaps we need to get back to encouraging and rewarding truthful, unbiased reporting, and making sure journalists are respected for doing just that, and are not forced to compromise their integrity and professionalism.
I am reminded of the 5 Ws and the ‘How’ when I was learning how to write effectively in school. What ever happened to that when it comes to truthful reporting by some ‘journalists’ (although I realize that sometimes they are given no choice). I, too, am sick and tired of the infomercial/entertainment mentality of the news today, which I suspect is motivated by corporate greed more than anything else. Perhaps what needs to happen is for the news media to acknowledge that honest, truthful reporting should be of the utmost importance and be respected and rewarded, instead of being compromised and/or fabricated entirely. Perhaps then journalists can once again be proud of what they do and be able to hold themselves to the highest possible standards.
As a member of CWA-NMG, I know that cutbacks in news services and at newspapers represented by TNG have also lowered the quality of news.
We are facing severe problems in this country and what we’re getting is “dirty laundry” about Lindsay Lohan and Brittney Spears. I have no sympathy for drunken drivers, but lets remember these women are union members too, and the Iraq War and an anti-labor administration are far more important than their antics.