{"id":1595,"date":"2011-02-23T19:36:17","date_gmt":"2011-02-24T00:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/000af36.netsolhost.com\/wordpress1\/2011\/02\/23\/journalism-takes-too-much-time\/"},"modified":"2011-02-23T19:36:17","modified_gmt":"2011-02-24T00:36:17","slug":"journalism-takes-too-much-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/2011\/02\/23\/journalism-takes-too-much-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalism Takes Too Much Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington Post <\/em>reporter David Hilzenrath called me last week after I sent him an email asking if he was going to look into claims that \u201cregulations kill jobs.\u201d<\/a> (see also<\/a> and here<\/a>) He and Phil Rucker had written a front page story<\/a> that included a statement by the reporters that no one making those claims could provide any evidence. Yet for about 1600 words Hilzenrath and Rucker allowed mostly those asserting the claim full rein. <\/p>\n

In my talk with him I characterized it as a \u201che said, she said\u201d story. He took umbrage at that, but we did find common ground. Rucker had stated in an email to me that they would conduct their \u201cdue diligence\u201d to fact check the claim. But Hilzenrath said that would be unlikely for the simple reason that it would take too much time to examine the veracity of the claim. He also said it may impossible to verify it or disprove it. <\/p>\n

I agree it would take some time and no definitive answer may be possible, but what he said speaks to the sad state of journalism today. Even the best newspapers, such as The Post,<\/em> can\u2019t do their job of seeking truth, as the ethics code of the Society of Journalism sets out as one of the profession\u2019s guiding principles: to seek the truth. They are short-staffed and must stick to reporting what happens with little examination of the claims of either party.<\/p>\n

Even on the big issues, fact checking is too slow. As Mark Twain once said, a lie will go around the world while the truth is pulling its boots on. I recalled a conference I attended years ago in which Mike Shear, then a Post<\/em>  reporter covering Virginia state government, admonished bloggers for reporting rumors. I pointed out to him how The Post<\/em>  had allowed the rumor, false as it turned out, by the \u201cSwift Boaters\u201d against Sen. John Kerry, to receive coverage in his paper for more than a week before it refuted the rumor. He conceded my point. The best known recent example is Sarah Palin\u2019s \u201cdeath panels,\u201d still believed to be true<\/a> by nearly half of all Americans.<\/p>\n

Yet it requires \u201ctoo much time\u201d to verify the truth. Are readers being well served? And is it any wonder that newspapers, where we expect to find the \u201cfirst draft of history,\u201d are dying. Fewer people trust the information they get from mainstream media. Seventy percent of respondents to a CNN poll<\/a> said the media was \u201cout of touch\u201d and from 1972 to 2009 those who have confidence in the mainstream media fell from 68 percent to 45 percent, according to a Gallup poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s a suggestion for The Post. <\/em>For national political reporting (its bread and butter), <\/em>contract with another news organization that covers the back and forth of Congress and the White House. Maybe The National Journal<\/em>, AP or Roll Call<\/em>. Ask those news organizations to provide short stories about what happened on the Hill or at the White House briefing. These stories would be no more than a couple hundred words that would say this is the issue and here\u2019s the spin from each side. No quotes, just synopses of the issues and the spin. These stories could be on page 2 or 3 and graphically laid out to be quick reads.<\/p>\n

That would free up Post<\/em> reporters to dig behind the spin. That analysis of the issue may not be produced the same day in some cases, but as issues percolate, reporters could be working on the different issues encompassing the political story. In the \u201cregulations kills jobs\u201d scenario, reporters would be looking at questions such as:<\/p>\n