Is It Wrong to Ask Conservatives To Play By the Rules?

Michelle Obama probably expects to be called many things over the next five months, but chances are the term "baby mama" wasn't on that list.

A Fox News producer came up with a graphic that read: "Outraged Liberals: Stop picking on Obama's baby mama." The producer probably thought the term was catchy. Unfortunately, that term refers to unwed mothers so it was not an accurate or fair description of Mrs. Obama.

A graphic artist wouldn't show footage of a red car and then state in the graphic that the car was blue. When viewers find one producer misleading them, they become suspicious of all journalists - the good along with the bad. That is the larger issue here. Good journalists, in time, will pay for the mistakes of their colleagues.

Most journalists don't shed tears when outsiders suggest they are biased.  We have to try to understand the mentality. The fact that people are complaining is, to them, an indicator that they ARE doing their job well  And they might be right.  Isn't it also possible that people are complaining because the news coverage contains some inaccurate assumptions, biased reporting, or faulty conclusions?

Before a news organization can decide if it is in the right, it must first research the possibility that it was wrong. This can only be done after some fact-finding and conversation. Conservatives and liberals alike avoid an honest dialog by blaming criticism on "political correctness" which is a moden-day version of the old reliable "race card." Two wrong turns won't get us moving in the right direction, folks..

The world does not need more media critics. Rather It needs more brave news organizations willing to stand up and commit to follow the basic principles and ethics of journalism.

 While we need and appreciate conservative voices like those on Fox, we can't lower professional standards.We should expect conservatives to do their best and follow the industry code. .Lowering standards for any group is about the worst thing we can do to them. At least, that is what they tell me on Fox News.

Contact FOX News and any other station or network that demonstrates clear patterns of bias. Ask them to pledge to follow these principles during the campaign.   Do it to protect all the good reporters who struggle to find the truth.

 The Radio-TV News Directors Association

Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

For the Code of Ethics en español, click here.

PREAMBLE

Professional electronic journalists should operate as trustees of the public, seek the truth, report it fairly and with integrity and independence, and stand accountable for their actions.

PUBLIC TRUST: Professional electronic journalists should recognize that their first obligation is to the public.

Professional electronic journalists should:

* Understand that any commitment other than service to the public undermines trust and credibility.
* Recognize that service in the public interest creates an obligation to reflect the diversity of the community and guard against oversimplification of issues or events.
* Provide a full range of information to enable the public to make enlightened decisions.
* Fight to ensure that the public's business is conducted in public.

TRUTH: Professional electronic journalists should pursue truth aggressively and present the news accurately, in context, and as completely as possible.

Professional electronic journalists should:

* Continuously seek the truth.
* Resist distortions that obscure the importance of events.
* Clearly disclose the origin of information and label all material provided by outsiders.

Professional electronic journalists should not:

* Report anything known to be false.
* Manipulate images or sounds in any way that is misleading.
* Plagiarize.
* Present images or sounds that are reenacted without informing the public.

FAIRNESS: Professional electronic journalists should present the news fairly and impartially, placing primary value on significance and relevance.

Professional electronic journalists should:

* Treat all subjects of news coverage with respect and dignity, showing particular compassion to victims of crime or tragedy.
* Exercise special care when children are involved in a story and give children greater privacy protection than adults.
* Seek to understand the diversity of their community and inform the public without bias or stereotype.
* Present a diversity of expressions, opinions, and ideas in context.
* Present analytical reporting based on professional perspective, not personal bias.
* Respect the right to a fair trial.

INTEGRITY: Professional electronic journalists should present the news with integrity and decency, avoiding real or perceived conflicts of interest, and respect the dignity and intelligence of the audience as well as the subjects of news.

Professional electronic journalists should:

* Identify sources whenever possible. Confidential sources should be used only when it is clearly in the public interest to gather or convey important information or when a person providing information might be harmed. Journalists should keep all commitments to protect a confidential source.
* Clearly label opinion and commentary.
* Guard against extended coverage of events or individuals that fails to significantly advance a story, place the event in context, or add to the public knowledge.
* Refrain from contacting participants in violent situations while the situation is in progress.
* Use technological tools with skill and thoughtfulness, avoiding techniques that skew facts, distort reality, or sensationalize events.
* Use surreptitious news gathering techniques, including hidden cameras or microphones, only if there is no other way to obtain stories of significant public importance and only if the technique is explained to the audience.
* Disseminate the private transmissions of other news organizations only with permission.

Professional electronic journalists should not:

* Pay news sources who have a vested interest in a story.
* Accept gifts, favors, or compensation from those who might seek to influence coverage.
* Engage in activities that may compromise their integrity or independence.

INDEPENDENCE: Professional electronic journalists should defend the independence of all journalists from those seeking influence or control over news content.

Professional electronic journalists should:

* Gather and report news without fear or favor, and vigorously resist undue influence from any outside forces, including advertisers, sources, story subjects, powerful individuals, and special interest groups.
* Resist those who would seek to buy or politically influence news content or who would seek to intimidate those who gather and disseminate the news.
* Determine news content solely through editorial judgment and not as the result of outside influence.
* Resist any self-interest or peer pressure that might erode journalistic duty and service to the public.
* Recognize that sponsorship of the news will not be used in any way to determine, restrict, or manipulate content.
* Refuse to allow the interests of ownership or management to influence news judgment and content inappropriately.
* Defend the rights of the free press for all journalists, recognizing that any professional or government licensing of journalists is a violation of that freedom.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Professional electronic journalists should recognize that they are accountable for their actions to the public, the profession, and themselves.

Professional electronic journalists should:

* Actively encourage adherence to these standards by all journalists and their employers.
* Respond to public concerns. Investigate complaints and correct errors promptly and with as much prominence as the original report.
* Explain journalistic processes to the public, especially when practices spark questions or controversy.
* Recognize that professional electronic journalists are duty-bound to conduct themselves ethically.
* Refrain from ordering or encouraging courses of action that would force employees to commit an unethical act.
* Carefully listen to employees who raise ethical objections and create environments in which such objections and discussions are encouraged.
* Seek support for and provide opportunities to train employees in ethical decision-making.

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Comments

[Lance_K]

The very first question that comes to me is this: Has the term "baby mama" become popularized to the point that its meaning has become diluted? In other words, might some people think it is cool to use the term whether or not a woman has borne a child out of wedlock? I don't know the answer. What I'm suggesting is that if the term does get used indiscriminately within the African-American culture, then it is a double standard to insist that others outside that culture only use the term precisely, not indiscriminately.

It is possible, too, that we have the exact reverse situation: Do those within the African-American culture only use the term precisely, but those outside that culture assume it is can be used indiscriminately and make the mistake of using it indiscriminately?

A second question: What are the goals of journalism? Is journalism driven purely by function, or is there room for artistry (whether or not that artistry is of amateur or of professional quality)? Will anyone who reads Fox's graphic really be lead to think that Michelle Obama bore a child out of wedlock? Possibly so, but not necessarily so. If someone calls me a “mean MoFo,” I don't think anyone hearing it jumps to the conclusion that I have had intimate relations with my mother. That term's meaning has become much broader than its original meaning.

Some even thornier questions: If Mrs. Obama had indeed borne a child out of wedlock, would it then be okay to refer to her as "baby mama?" Or is this term in some way intended to be degrading, whether it is literally accurate or not? More to the point, is the term perceived as degrading (be it accurate or not) only when uttered by someone outside of the African-American culture? Although teen girls bearing children out of wedlock is becoming increasingly common among European-Americans, it still carries a lot of stigma. My perception is that within the African-American culture efforts have been made to ensure that the literal “baby mamas” don’t feel ashamed or ostracized by their out-of-wedlock births. It is possible that the term carries different connotations within the African-American culture versus without that culture.

[Linda]

One of the complaints I often here from my executive women friends is that strangers call them, "Sweetie", "Baby" or some other familiar term.

A woman with the credentials of Mrs. Obama should not be addressed any differently than a guy in the same position. Would we ever call Bill Clinton "Sweetie?" or "Baby Daddy?"

Sen. Obama learned this lesson when he called a female reporter "sweetie," a term he often uses for his wife.

To succeed in diverse communities, communicators and journalists must understand cultural differences. One word may have a variety of cultural meanings. Let's take the word cheese. To you and I, it is something to eat. To some young people, it is a term for money.

The most famous case of a communication blunder just might be the Chevy Nova. No va, translated into Spanish, means it won't go. Needlesstosay, the name made it hard to sell in Latin America countries.

What you don't know can hurt you.

There is a Golden Rule journalists learn in school: when in doubt, leave it out. If you don't fully understand the cultural nuances of a word, you shouldn't use it. Stick with what you know.

I know of a case where a newspaper reported a couple was flipping properties. (They were buying them, fixing them up and reselling them.) Flipping can also be illegal act when the property is bought and then resold at an artificially higher price without any improvements. THe couple sued the newspaper for libel; the case is still in court.

In the African American community, baby mama is used to refer to an unwed mother. It is the European American community that has changed the meaning of the word with the recent Tiny Fey movie: Baby Mama.

Journalists who work in diverse communities have an obligation to be clear and factual in their reports. They must understand how diverse audiences will interpret their words and offer clarifications where needed. (Flipping, the legal act, vs. flipping, the illegal activity.)

To do so, they must have cultural competencies, which include the ability to be effective within diverse groups.

[Lance_K]

Linda:

I agree that Fox Channel violated the journalists' Golden Rule. I can agree completely, too, that unprofessional journalism has become far too commonplace. One ray of sunshine: It makes the professional journalists like you stand out more.

As to your point about the use of “familiar terms,” you’ve once again given me something to think about that I have not given enough thought to before.

The media often refers to Pres. Bush as “Dubya,” and to Pres. Clinton as “Bill.” I think you are right, though, that familiar terms should not be applied to someone we don’t know personally. I also think this is true regardless of whether or not the person being addressed is of high social or political status. Using familiar terms with strangers shows a lack of manners or a lack of polish.

It seems, too, that the reasons for using familiar terms with strangers can be varied and complex. Your example of the female executive suggests that the use of a familiar term is meant to refuse to acknowledge her accomplishments and her status. I suppose it can be meant that way sometimes, but not always. The tone of voice reveals much (something that is hard to discern with printed words). Regardless, it is probably best to stick with the simple rule that you don’t use familiar terms with strangers.

More generally, this topic makes me wonder why Americans have forgotten their manners, but that is another soap box I’ll stay off of for now.

[Linda]

I couldn't agree more with Lance. If we practiced the lessons we learned in kindergarten: play well together; no name calling, and share your toys, there would be far less racial and religous conflict in the world.

None of us would ever need a cultural coach.

I don't see myself as a model journalist. As a mainstream journalist, I made many mistakes. I had a strong cultural filter but it took a while for me to see how it influenced my work. My hope is that those mistakes and shortcomings will hel other journalists raise the bar higher - and figure out how to intelligently cover a culturally diverse world.