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Defining a news ombudsman in a digital world
As news organisations become increasingly connected to their audiences, and those audiences equally become increasingly networked, the capacity for the news organisation to be held accountable by their audiences can only intensify. As we know, news organisations hold themselves accountable to their audiences through the application of a commonly held set of journalistic principles.
It is the task of news ombudsmen to assess whether their particular organisations have met those principles. The precise scope of the news ombudsman’s role reflects the legal and regulatory environment in which particular news organisations operate.
If we look at the present membership of the …
Watching the watchdogs
Clark Hoyt ’64, who won a Pulitzer Prize in the 1970s and was for many years Washington bureau chief for the Knight Ridder chain, now finds himself on the front lines of journalism ethics, assessing the work of writers, editors and photographers at The New York Times, writes David McKay Wilson of Columbia College Today.
“It’s a strange job,” says Hoyt, 67, one day in January during an interview in his office at the Times headquarters in midtown Manhattan. “You are called upon to pass judgment in a very public way. It’s not an easy job. But I find it …
Hate speech internalized in Turkey, says ombudsman
Hate speech, sometimes referred to as hate propaganda or extreme speech, is widespread in the Turkish media — especially when the issues are minority rights, armed conflict and the European Union accession process, a recent study dissecting hate speech in the media has found.
“The provocative, racist and discriminatory language used in the news, and in particular in headlines and spots, become tools used in fuelling the enmity and polarization in society, while also affirming the stereotypes,” stated the study, titled “Hate speech and hate crimes: Wounding words and acts” and released by the Hrant Dink International Foundation, which organized …
Former NYT public editor writes book on Prohibition
Daniel Okrent, the first public editor for The New York Times, has produced a book about the Prohibition Era in the United States. A review in Bloomberg Businessweek called “Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition” a book that is “sure to be one of the year’s best American history books.”
The news ombudsman: Watchdog or decoy?
The Netherlands Media Ombudsman Foundation, which is dedicated to the self-regulation of journalism in Dutch-speaking regions, in collaboration with the Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Department of Journalism in Tilburg, has conducted a study into the performance of ombudsmen in the news media.
The study is intended to provide professional journalists with more insight into the phenomenon of the news ombudsman as a self-regulation instrument.
The experiences gained thus far with regard to the performance of ombudsmen in news media have demonstrated that the phenomenon of news ombudsman can be an instrument in the self-regulation of journalism. Our frame of
…
NYT “squandering readers’ trust,” says public editor
Despite promises to limit the use of anonymous sources in stories, The New York Times continues to quote unnamed sources often and “casually” on occasions when the information is available on the public record or adds nothing to the reporting, the paper’s public editor charged in his weekend column.
The Times, wrote Clark Hoyt, “allows unnamed people to provide quotes of marginal news value and to remain hidden with little real explanation of their motives, their reliability, or the reasons why they must be anonymous.”
Being open to “self correction” is important to journalists
N. Ram, editor in chief of The Hindu, tells Indian journalists that codes of practice are imperative for the industry and suggested that “internal news ombudsmen perform that role.
Speaking on “Media as Protector of Public Discussion” at the opening session of a two-day roundtable on Markets, Media and Democracy, organised jointly by UNICEF and the Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, Mr. Ram said a very key function of the media was that related to “agenda-building.”
Elucidating the more crucial functions of the media, Mr. Ram said if those related to “credible information” and “critical assessment investigation” were done well, …
Salt Lake Tribune eliminates reader advocate post
The Salt Lake Tribune in Salt Lake City, Utah, has eliminated the position of reader advocate. Connie Coyne, who has held the position for the past seven years, will be leaving the paper as of March 26.
Will consumers continue to pay for news?
News has become a commodity, concludes E-commerce Times. But Jeffrey Dvorkin, ONO’s executive director, says “… I am optimistic that solid and reliable information will always find a market and a public willing to pay for it.”
Hanif represents ONO in Azerbaijan
C.B. Hanif is representing ONO in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he is consulting with journalists concerned about the accountability of the press in the former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea.
“I am hearing these concerns and sharing the experiences of the Organization of New Ombudsmen in improving journalistic accuracy and fairness, accountability and transparency, independence and credibility at news organizations around the world,” Hanif reports in his blog, “Hanif on Media.”
“How Azeris choose to develop their news organizations obviously will be their decisions. The societal challenges are not to be taken lightly,” he wrote.
“I’m hopeful that, …
