Tell the truth.
It is that simple. Anything less is a betrayal of trust. That is true for presidents–and it is no less true for reporters and commentators in journalism.
This has been a tough summer for truth in journalism. Making it up, getting it wrong, stealing words, pursuing a hidden agenda, behaving arrogantly and acting above the law. Journalists have been guilty of all of the above in this summer of shame.
The latest to fall is Boston Globe columnist Mike Barnicle, who resigned under fire Wednesday from the paper where he had worked for 25 years. Last week, the Globe announced Barnicle would be suspended without pay for two months because he apparently had used without attribution some jokes from a book by comedian George Carlin.
This week, Globe editor Matthew Storin was alerted that an emotional Barnicle column in 1995 about two young cancer patients who became friends during treatment at a Boston hospital could not be verified. So, Barnicle rightfully got the ax.
He is the second Globe columnist to be ousted this summer for making things up. In June, Patricia Smith resigned after the newspaper discovered she had made up information in numerous columns. The fact that she–a black woman–was let go and Barnicle–a white man–was initially allowed to stay caused a furor in Boston. The paper was accused of racism and employing a double standard.
The Globe’s self-inflicted woes come on the heels of several other ethical lapses by journalists:
CNN and Time magazine were forced to retract a report that accused the U.S. military of using nerve gas on its own defectors in the Vietnam War. The Cincinnati Enquirer paid $10 million, apologized to the Chiquita banana company and fired a reporter who wrote a series attacking the company’s business practices after learning he apparently stole Chiquita’s voice-mail messages.
The New Republic determined that former associate editor Stephen Glass made up all or parts of dozens of stories. In coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, the Dallas Morning News and the Wall Street Journal were forced to retract reports on their Internet sites because of errors.
Tell the truth. It really is that simple. The complicated task for journalists is to convince our readers and viewers that they can trust us to do just that.
