n Mon, Nov 7, 2011 at 8:39 AM, Dave Sikula <[email protected]> wrote:
> I think you're being a wee bit harsh here. I think viewers in > Bismarck, or Carbondale, or Laramie, are savvy enough to realize their > stations don't have a reporter dedicated to covering showbiz in LA or > New York. And if I'm a station manager at the NBC affiliate in > Altoona, PA, I'm certainly not going to credit CBS for giving me a > story. It's bad enough I'm telling folks to watch TBS. > > Besides, if even the major media were to source where they got their > story ideas -- that do include "original" reporting from staff > reporters -- there'd be a lot of sourcing to the Sunday New York > Times. > > Give viewers a little credit. I think most of us know when wire copy > is being read or CNN feeds are being aired. And, besides, how many of > the viewers in Arkadelphia are on the lookout for a station in Wichita > using the same story? > > It was an amusing set of circumstances that are probably not unique. > I am not sure which part of what I have been writing you this is a wee bit harsh. Do you think I am being too harsh when I suggest that the standards of local newscasts are not very high? If so, then I guess we are just going to have to disagree about that. Are you saying that I am being too harsh when I suggest that simply sourcing the Conan story would be a sign of higher journalistic standards? That seems like a specific enough point that I would like to try to persuade you that I am correct. I don't think your point that most viewers know when wire copy is being read is relevant here. First, I am a relatively sophisticate viewer, and I don't have any magical 6th sense that tells me when wire copy is being read. If I had heard the Conan story on my local newscast, I don't think I would have assumed it came from any wire service (and I wonder how you, or anyone else, would?). Second, even if most viewers had some intuitive sense of wire copy stories, that would be irrelevant - the proper form here it so source the story. A (college) student of mine recently tried to defend their lack of citation for a quote in a technical paper this quarter by telling me that it was obvious it was a quote, and from the context any likely reader would be able to tell its source. In fact, I was able to tell it was a quote, and I knew the exact source, but that of course was besides the point - the proper form is to use quotation marks, and cite the source. Following this form not only informs the reader, it also reassures the reader that other passages, where the origin may be less clear, can be trusted. This is at least as important when it comes to anything purporting to be news. Again, I am specifically not arguing that lack of citation of the source of the Conan story alone is the mark of inferior local news standards. Rather, I am arguing that the evidence is overwhelming over many years that journalistic standards at local news stations have been severely eroded, and the Conan story is merely one humorous illustration of this. Earlier this morning I cited one hypothetical example of how failure to source would be problematic (when the original, but unknown to the viewer source has an axe to grind). I would be interested if anyone defending the lack of sourcing practice has a response to this. A second hypothetical example of why this practice is problematic would be, what would happen if there were a serious error in the story? What if the newswire copy had accidentally outed a closeted gay staffer on the Conan show, identifying him as the one getting married rather than the actual gay guy getting married? Wouldn't every local station immediately explain that the mistake was not their fault - that they had only run a wire story? Of course they would - but then it follows that this attribution should also be given when the story is correct. And the viewer has a right to know which wire services are being used, as one way of evaluating the judgement and credibility of the station. If the NYT used wire copy from the National Enquirer service (not that there is such a thing) its readers would need to know that so they could re-evaluate their judgement of the Times as a reliable source of news. > > > On Nov 7, 7:44 am, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Exactly - which, if the standards of local news were higher, one might > > think would also motivate a simple "CBS Newsource reports that Conan is > > pushing the envelope..." or something like that. > -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
