OK, so we all walked by this guy's desk yesterday, right?
While visiting the Arizona republic yesterday, our AWESOME tour guide Michael Meister told us that "Its sort of a tradition that we all do, and you can tell what we do if you look at the way we've decorated our desks." No kidding!
And though it is lighthearted, and many of the ASNE fellows on the tour weren't sure if it was "for real" or if it was just staged, it got me to thinking about a larger issue facing journalism: ethics.
The day before, we were talking about ethics and Professor Steve Elliott shared that he never tells who he is voting for; he just does not want people to know. During another presentation, one of the speakers warned that if you share your personal views, then those views get tied to your paper.
Yet, not only did I walk by this crazy Suns fan's desk, I walked by another desk with "McCain/Palin" buttons and fliers and posters and other paraphernalia. That then made me reflect on the original point that your views are tied to the paper and the fact that the decorations represent what the reporter does according to Elliott and Meister, respectively.
So if this Suns fan's desk is decorated with sports items, I guess its fairly safe to say he's one of the sports writers. And if this woman's desk is decorated with political items, then she probably handles politics. But anyone who walks by her desk knows who she supports!
So, do I let the guy (why am I assuming its a guy?) who is the Suns fan cover the Suns games? And do I let the woman who is the McCain fan cover McCains' presidential campaign? Obviously the Suns fan may have a better or more thorough perspective of the team and the game, just as I know I have better knowledge of the Mets starting line-up and their strengths (starting pitching until day 4 in the rotation) and weaknesses (Castillo's inconsistency and basic lack of fundamentals throughout the team) than someone who is a Yankee fan and doesn't watch the Mets play.
And the woman who is the McCain/Palin fan may have a more thorough understanding of McCain's issues, otherwise she wouldn't be supporting him, right? So who covers that story?
And if we let the fans cover the stories, what and how do we teach about remaining impartial and reporting the news?
"There is no such thing as unbiased"
Melissa Cordova
Eli Whitney Technical High School
New Haven, Conn.
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ReplyDeleteDitto. I also took a picture of this desk. But for a different reason. As a television production teacher, I am keenly aware of visual stimulation and I try to make the environment my students are in "pop" with interesting things to observe. The wall in our studio's edit room is completely covered in laminated Pulitzer Prize photos and anything else that captures the eye with timeliness, composition, cultural relevance, etc. I find that my students, even though most are visual learners, don't read the newspaper no matter how many news quizzes I do. This is a stealth move, an osmosis (osmotic??) move on my part to make them observe more. I know it works because when we went to the Newseum a few weeks ago, they knew so many of the pictures from our own walls and read all the captioning with some ownership. I read somewhere that the Japanese have a habit of changing one small thing in their foyer every week to keep their observation skills keen. It could be a new flower of moving furniture around.
ReplyDeleteSo, I am going Japanese (quoting music group Devo there) and trying to overstimulate senses with my students. Think wall-to-wall imagery. AND it won't violate any bias or ethics rules as you will have EVERYTHING on the wall . .. Palin, Obama, A-Rod, Castro, Tank Man in Tiannamen Square, etc.
Joanna Greer
John F. Kennedy High
Silver Spring, Md.