I get calls and e-mails frequently from readers who make assumptions about why journalists do what we do.
“You sensationalize only to sell newspapers.” “Where is the positive news? You focus too much on the negative.” “You’re liberals and biased against the GOP.” “Why write stories that are so divisive?” “Your bias shows.”
Some people will always disagree with what is printed, because the nature of what we report will be divisive at times.
But we need to get things right, and when we don’t we damage our credibility and diminish readers’ waning trust.
And we compound the credibility problem when we are unclear or wrong on sensitive stories, such as those dealing with race.
Here’s an example: On May 17, the Free Press ran a front-page article headlined “Race plays a big role in MEAP scores.” The article was about a consultant’s analysis of MEAP test scores of black and white students in the Oakland Intermediate School District.
It concluded that differences in answers by black and white students to 19 questions could be the reason nearly 1,000 black students missed out on qualifying for $2,500 scholarships.
The consultant found no obvious reasons for the differences, and refused to use the word bias in describing them. Others in the story said race was among several possible factors, which included curriculum and school environment.
The headline, however, said race played a big role.
Along with the story, we published eight questions on which white students scored better than black students. On one of those questions, about the speed of sound in water and air, the newspaper mistakenly highlighted the wrong answer as the right one.
In addition, we didn’t run the questions in which black students scored better than whites, prompting some readers to wonder why.
All this prompted nearly 100 calls and e-mails.
Here are two e-mail excerpts:
- “Stop fueling the fire! Does stirring racial tension really sell newspapers? You and the paper should be using your efforts to build harmony in the community rather than making everything a race issue!”
- “What about the other 11 questions which are not discussed? I am left to infer that those were more often answered correctly by black students. So where is the ‘big role’ played by race?”
The headline, the incorrect test answer and the absence of the other questions damaged our credibility. We corrected the wrong answer, but it’s unclear whether that’s enough.
The Free Press corrects errors regularly on page 2A, and employees must explain their mistakes to Executive Editor Robert G. McGruder. My job is to share readers’ concerns about mistakes and their toll on our credibility.
“Correcting the errors is not enough,” McGruder said. “We try to get it right when we gather the information and write the story. That responsibility continues when we make a mistake. We also err when stories lack fairness or balance.
“Finally, we try to identify problems and fix them so that we don’t make the same mistakes again.”
