Emotions run high as Election Day approaches. Next month, California is going to elect a governor. In San Diego County, two of the most hotly contested races are for the District Attorney’s Office and the San Diego City Schools board of trustees.
Although the election is three weeks off, almost every day I hear from someone, be it a candidate, a supporter or a reader, who quarrels with coverage. Some of it is warranted; some of it is not. I cannot excuse the smattering of factual errors; the newspaper should do better.
Aside from errors, the complaints sometimes are about information that is included or not included in stories. Sometimes, complaints are about headlines or story placement. Some readers accuse the newspaper of bias, alleging the Union-Tribune’s editorial views determine which stories get written, how they are written, where they are placed, the type of headlines they get.
Some readers complained Wednesday about a headline on a story about Bill Simon and his accusation that Gov. Gray Davis had accepted a campaign contribution while in his government office, which is illegal. The accusation was included in a front-page story Tuesday about the debate that said Simon “dropped what seemed to be a political bombshell when he made an unsubstantiated claim that Davis broke the law by accepting a campaign contribution in his state office four years ago.”
Although Tuesday’s story included Simon’s allegation, it also included Davis’s denial and a denial by the person who allegedly delivered the contribution to Davis at the Capitol. The story also said that Simon’s campaign consultant later “backed away from the charge.”
That story was fine. It was the main headline on the next day’s story that caught the eye of reader Tina Keene who complained it was misleading, especially to readers who don’t go beyond headlines.
The headline said “Simon offers ‘proof’ Davis broke law.” A secondary headline, smaller and in lighter type, said: “Photo evidence put in doubt on closer analysis.”
Although the quotation marks around “proof” were intended to convey that it wasn’t really proof, I understand Keene’s concern about the main headline. It appeared over an 18-paragraph story based on a press conference called by Simon, who claimed to have photographic evidence to back the allegation. The story also said The San Diego Union-Tribune and other news organizations went to the Capitol office and found it looked nothing like the office in the photo Simon had offered as proof.
It wasn’t until the 16th paragraph of the story on Page A-4 that it was explained that Simon “had backed away from the assertion” by the end of the news conference. His change of heart should have been higher in the story, especially in view of the ongoing fallout from the accusation. Some would argue that the story belonged on the front page because Tuesday’s story, in which the accusation was first reported, appeared on the front page.
It had become obvious that Simon’s attempt to discredit Davis had backfired. The headline Wednesday should not have left any question about what happened. Clarity in headlines is especially important. In this case, the headline fell short of the mark.
The fact that some people attempt to manipulate the news to get their points of view across comes as no surprise to journalists who are especially alert to it during high-stake political campaigns.
Sometimes, allegations of bias come from ardent supporters of candidates who fail to see how their own biases affect their perceptions of news coverage. And should the newspaper editorialize in favor of an opponent, they take it as further proof that no news story can possibly be fair, balanced or unbiased. Some assume editorial opinion colors the way candidates are covered in news stories, how articles are positioned, and what headlines say. It is not so.
Some readers don’t differentiate between news and opinion. In fact, some incorrectly assume that editorial opinion determines how news is covered, especially when it comes to political issues. Yet, the wall between opinion and news is not just a myth or an impractical concept. It is at the core of news gathering, and every reporter is keenly aware of it. Writers of news stories have a different mission from editorial writers whose job is to persuade people to vote for certain candidates or in favor of certain issues.
It is the job of a reporter to make sure the reader has the information he or she will need to make an informed decision at the polls. Who it favors does not enter into determining whether the information is reported. That’s as it should be.
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.
Copyright 2002
