Several years ago, my family asked me to do something I don’t ordinarily do
– make a Christmas list. Being a novice, I gave everyone the same list.
Under the tree that year, I found three can openers, three black slips and
two pasta bowls.
After that experience — remembered with glee by my family and friends — I
ceased making Christmas lists. I have been happy with whatever people have
chosen to give me. But this year, I’ve had a change of heart. I’ve prepared
an ombudsman’s list that applies equally to readers of The San Diego
Union-Tribune and journalists who bring you the news. It doesn’t matter
whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan or have another
holiday tradition. This year, I’d like the same gifts from everyone.
Duplicates are more than welcome. Don’t worry about size or color.
First on my list is perfection. To journalists, I say set your sights high.
Work at getting all the facts and interpreting them accurately. Make sure
you’ve spelled every name correctly. Check to make sure you haven’t made a
typo on a telephone number. Check your grammar. Make sure the numbers add
up, and don’t expect someone else to do your math for you.
To readers, expect perfection but forgive journalists who fall short. Eight
years ago, Phil Record, then the ombudsman at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
asked his readers to be patient with journalists, whom he described as
“imperfect creatures who strive without success each day to put out a
perfect newspaper.” Record’s description still applies.
Alas, perfection for most mortals is elusive, but it doesn’t mean
journalists shouldn’t strive for it. There are some errors that are
difficult to excuse — misspelled names, wrong telephone numbers, figures
that don’t add up, any information that can be checked and re-checked.
However, readers should remember that the information they read is only as
good as what was available at deadline. For example, after a deadly
accident, reporters usually look to law enforcement as the official source
for information unless they can interview witnesses. A later investigation
may show that the situation did not unfold quite the way officers initially
thought — and the way it was reported in the newspaper.
Sometimes, though, there are errors because a reporter simply
misunderstands something or doesn’t understand it well enough. Sometimes
there are errors, including those that are difficult to excuse, because
journalists work against the clock. A single newspaper has thousands of
pieces of information. Deadlines aside, the opportunities for error are
myriad. That this very newspaper you’re reading got printed and delivered
to your home or newsstand today in a timely manner is a minor miracle, and
it’s a miracle that journalists, printers, distributors and others make
happen 365 days a year. An unheard-of miracle would be getting out a
newspaper without a glitch or two or three.
Because perfection is difficult to achieve, it leads me to the next item on
the list: Tolerance. To journalists, remember that it is your duty to visit
all sides of an issue, even those with which you do not agree. And to
readers, be tolerant when the newspaper writes about ideas and practices of
others, even if you do not agree with them yourself.
If anything, we need more tolerance today than ever. Whether you are a
journalist or a reader, be tolerant of people of other races and religions,
people who are not like you, who do not think like you do in matters of
religion or politics, who do not share your values. Remember what you
learned in school: the United States is a melting pot. It’s built on the
tolerance we have for each other and each other’s ideas.
Tolerant readers do not kill the messenger. Reporters don’t write stories
because they agree with the source they are quoting or because they approve
of a practice. They write them because they are news.
And when it comes to news, it doesn’t matter who approves of it. News is
reported because it involves information that people need to know or should
know or because it involves the human condition. Journalists do not write
stories only about situations or issues they find appealing. They write
stories to share information, to shed light on issues.
The list was short: perfection and tolerance — one more achievable than
the other. Sizes don’t matter in these gifts. They’re easy to wrap and
always welcome.
o o o
Gina Lubrano’s column commenting on the media appears Mondays. It is the
policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune to correct all errors. To discuss
accuracy or fairness in the news, please write to Gina Lubrano, readers
representative, Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or telephone (619)
293-1525. Send e-mail to:
readers.rep@uniontrib.com.
End-of-Story
