PARIS — In Britain, a newspaper flubbed reporting the winning numbers in a bingo game by one number. The mistake led thousands of hopefuls to believe they had won 100,000 pounds. Callers melted the switchboard. Even a rival newspaper’s switchboard lighted up, as players rushed to collect their fortunes.
The miscreant journalist appeared the next day in a photo under the headline “Bingo bungler,” wearing a dunce cap and standing in the corner.
That was one of the lighter tales swapped when the Organization of News Ombudsmen gathered recently in Paris. Forty-four of the 80 members worldwide met to share tips and concerns about fulfilling the duties of the still-rare job, called readers’ representative, “public editor” or “defender of the public” in various places across the globe. Attendees came from North America, South America, Europe, Japan, Africa and the Mideast.
All ombudsmen listen to readers and try to pass along their opinions to news staffers. Like me, many write columns and internal staff memos and act as critics of our publications. Within the organization, there are similarities and differences.
For instance, a survey of members found the top five concerns presented by readers/viewers/or listeners are:
- Accuracy issues, including errors of fact, misspellings, poor grammar and missing context.
- Perceived bias or slant in news stories. Readers complain of no separation of facts and opinions, political favoritism and sections of the community ignored or not fairly covered.
- Page One story selection disagreements. Concerns about sensationalized headlines or story selections, headlines that don’t fit the story, taste issues and “what’s most significant” disputes.
- Not enough good news or local news.
- Privacy and ethics concerns.
Runners-up included objections to graphic photos, unhappiness about letters to the editor rejections, complaints about biased Mideast coverage, late delivery of newspapers and production problems involving smudged ink and small type.
Also of concern were unidentified sources, TV section failings, conflicts of interest, ambush interviews, too many ads in news sections and commercial or corporate influences on coverage.
Meryl Harris, reader services editor at the Journal News in White Plains, N.Y., summarized what many U.S. ombudsmen hear: “We’re too far left, too far right, anti-black, anti-white, anti-Jewish, anti-Palestinian, anti-Republican, anti-Democrat, anti-Catholic, anti-Protestant, anti-Muslim, anti-heterosexual, anti-homosexual, anti-Yankees, anti-Mets, anti-literacy, anti-men, anti-women … ”
Here, I’d simply sub the Yankees and Mets with MU and KU and it fits.
Outside the United States, many of the issues facing journalists are more grave, with free press reporters facing physical threats, jail and death.
Moreover, many countries have legal restrictions on the press, with laws mandating what the press may and may not report.
Ian Mayes, who writes a column on corrections for The Guardian in London, said “readers like us to aspire to accuracy.” Even at Le Monde, the respected French daily, readers complain of “inexcusable” errors in word usage, despite the practice of five proofreaders reviewing each story before it reaches print, a number that well exceeds most U.S. newspapers. There, the word guardians fight the “linguistic imperialism” of English, especially American terms, creeping into French stories.
Among the sessions were discussions about juvenile identifications in crime stories and the role of the ombudsmen in airing concerns about corporate profit-driven cutbacks in news coverage.
New ombudsmen sought advice on crafting the job. As the recently appointed ombudsman in Cameroon asked: “Am I a teacher? A professor of ethics?”
Ombudsmen described how they prefer serious journalistic issues but respect that the heaviest calls occur when little stuff goes wrong, like a crossword puzzle fiasco.
Ombudsmen shared gripes about repeat complainers, dubbed “frequent fliers,” increasing numbers of orchestrated e-mail campaigns, arrogant complainers and, more unsettling, arrogant newsroom colleagues. Much appreciation was expressed for the well-educated readers and listeners who reveal expertise in an amazing array of subjects and genuinely want to improve their own newspapers.
The Sacramento Bee ombudsman, Sanders LaMont, keeps a sign on his desk of advice for ombudsmen everywhere: “Shut up and listen.”
