Why does a newspaper need an ombudsmen?…

During the four years I have filled the position of ombudsman of the Star-Telegram, I have had quite a few editors of other newspapers tell me:

“We don’t need an ombudsman at my paper. My editors and I can handle the readers ourselves.”

That sounds great in theory. But on a practical basis, I wonder just how well these busy editors handle their readers?

I am one of the few people in this business — only 35 U.S. papers have ombudsmen — who has been both an editor and an ombudsman. This gives …

Strip club story wasn’t a tease…

Did The Post’s Accent section go too far with its “Naked Ambition” feature? Sheri Bautz, an associate pastor at the First Free Methodist Church in West Palm Beach, is certain of it. So is Ann Kucik, who said she was calling on behalf of many other women.

They called to complain about the Sept. 28 article that pulled the covers off the mind-set of some local strip-club dancers. We generally disagreed. But the Listening Post is a forum for readers’ complaints. Summarizing theirs:

“Glamorized this profession”….”As working women and mothers, we have been put …

What was wrong with that picture?…

What was wrong with that picture?

Oh, only everything, said about two dozen readers who called this corner (and additional folks phoned others here) to condemn this journal after viewing the large color photo of a young actress in a provocative pose and the skimpiest of costumes on the Sept. 22 Show Weekend cover.

The headline across the lower part of the photo read, “On with the show,” and a subheading added, “Teen idol Elizabeth Berkley headlines the year’s most controversial film, ‘Showgirls.’” Well, the photograph immediately became the most controversial of the year …

Why critics can’t be players…

In a democracy, the spectacle of journalists spreading unedited propaganda messages for governments or police is not a pretty one.

Such grovelling to authority, even for a perceived public good such as catching a terrorist or saving lives, raises doubts about the independence and credibility of news organizations.

It is the media’s job to report what’s going on in the world the news without becoming an arm of the law or an accomplice of those who flout laws.

You can’t be critic and player at the same time, as the saying goes. The blending of …

The Dilemma of the Unabomber…

It was newspapers themselves who were among last week’s biggest newsmakers. The Post and The New York Times jointly published the eight-page Unabomber manifesto, printing it in The Post. And the debate rumbled afterward: Was publishing the right thing to do?

There was passion on both sides. Many hailed publication as a courageous act. What is the cost of newsprint compared with the cost of a life? asked some. Others called it dangerous and foolhardy. Caving in to terrorists is never a good idea, they said. Now what’s to keep any kook from threatening some …

Ethics and the media

By Richard P. Cunningham
Quill © 1995

Joann Byrd gave The Washington Post what reads like a B-plus in press ethics as she turned over The Post ombudsman job to Geneva Overholser, former prize-winning editor of The Des Moines Register.

Byrd went back to Washington, where she had been editor of the Everett Herald, to teach press ethics at the University of Washington and to pull together many years’ work on a model for ethical decision making in newsrooms.

When Bryd took The Post job three years ago, she set out eight values by which to judge the newspaper’s news …

Newspapers, including this one, too often give their detract…

It’s no secret that many people blame “the liberal press” for many of our country’s difficulties. While there is serious doubt that the bulk of the nation’s press really is liberal, newspapers too often give their detractors reason to criticize. Two recent provocations appeared in the pages of the Inquirer.

The first was the photo with our June 2 profile of Rush Limbaugh. While the talk-show commentator’s fans praised Joe Logan’s story for its “fairness and balance,” they were livid over the candid wire service photo of Limbaugh grimacing, accusing us of “deliberately” using …

Explaining, but also criticizing…

Speaking of his newspaper’s ombudsman recently, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Publisher Richard Connor gave a great definition: “Phil Record’s job is to explain what we do, not to defend it.”

Mr. Connor, host of the Organization of News Ombudsmen’s annual meeting in Cowtown last week, said he was “amazed at the few times a year Phil Record vigorously criticizes the newspaper” – and also “amazed at the number of people (who) say he ought not to be able to do it.”

One complaint may represent “hundreds or thousands of similar readers who don’t bother to …

Familiar face but a different name…

Millions of former slaves who had been brought to America from Africa adoted the surnames of their masters after Emancipation. I can happily report that I have finally given Mr. Bond back his name. But it was no small decision to legally change mine from Charles Bond to C.B. Hanif.

Some friends wonder why it took me so long. Indeed, for years I’ve told colleagues when the subject came up that I was long overdue. But I also wanted to be very deliberate.

So I’ve been observing the name-change scene with more interest than …

The Chimera…

Journalists at Folha appear willing to use any datum, statistic or “study” that falls into their hands, with little or no questioning. A debate starts only if a specialist outside the newsroom seeks the newspaper or a well-prepared columnist ventures into the field. This blemish shows up, for example, in the discussion of the two main topics of the day, unemployment and the social security system.

At its best, the newspaper — I’m referring to its most meaningful part, reporting — places conflicting information side by side to present all sides of the …