The wobbly pedestal on which journalism rested before the New York Times plagiarism scandal needs to be steadied.
How will journalists do that?
Efforts already are under way in newsrooms across the country as journalists evaluate ethics and hiring policies, conduct in-house discussions and examine ways to better fact-check information.
Times reporter Jayson Blair was ousted after he was found to have plagiarized and fabricated dozens of stories. The scandal led to the resignation of the top two Times editors.
But the real repair work will be done by better journalism that makes a difference.
Like the work that led to the federal investigation of the Detroit Police Department. If not for dogged investigative reporting by several Free Press journalists, the department’s monumental abuses might well continue, invisible to scrutiny.
The department was placed under two U.S. Justice Department decrees on Thursday because of systemic and continued abuse of citizens’ civil rights.
Investigators said the department failed to train, supervise, monitor and discipline officers who brutalized people, illegally detained witnesses and harmed prisoners.
The probe of the police department began after Free Press articles about fatal police shootings prompted former Mayor Dennis Archer to ask the Justice Department to investigate.
The newspaper team that kept digging included veteran Free Press reporters Joe Swickard, David Ashenfelter, Suzette Hackney, Jim Schaefer, M.L. Elrick and Ben Schmitt.
“In simplest terms, the police were not being held accountable for their actions,” said Swickard. “The culture that surrounded the DPD defied examination and change. Isolation and arrogance of power poison democracy. Sunlight is a disinfectant.”
Said Hackney: “In my opinion, watchdog journalism is the purest form of altruism. There is no better way to serve the community than to provide the necessary checks and balances on law enforcement, government and big business.”
The expected payoff for Detroiters, police, federal officials and journalists is a top-notch police department.
“We need a department that residents embrace and turn to for help, rather than fear and distrust,” said Schmitt. “At least that is what I have gathered in my 18 months on the Detroit cop beat. I feel that I can say this credibly as a Detroit resident.”
The fallout will continue, but most journalists I’ve spoken with say the New York Times incidents will sharpen our focus on getting the facts right and acting ethically.
