The Prince and the Poser

Well, Matt Drudge has done it again. In a sensational stunt that has become his trademark, the world's most famous unofficial journalist has done it again by revealing the location of Prince Harry and his battalion in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defence is up in arms over the revelation after going to great lengths to arrange an agreement with the British press which had been successful in keeping the prince's location safe and secret since December. The source for Drudge's story is thought to have been an Australian women's magazine, of all things, called New Idea, but the German magazine Bild has also been implicated in releasing information as well. New Idea has claimed ignorance of the blackout.

After a week of going over the Kidder model as related to the John McCain story in class, I feel that I am somewhat able to gauge whether publishing a story is ethical or not. In this case, I see no reason why people would need to know the exact location of Prince Harry. The whereabouts of the third-in-line to the throne are not immediately pressing to the British public, and are certainly not pertinent to the everyday lives of the American people. On a more serious level, the revealing of the prince's location could become a danger to him, and to his fellow troops. The fact that we know he is there serving in the military seems to be enough. While it is true that Drudge was not the first to reveal the story, he had to have been aware that the information had been missed by the majority of the public, as well as the fact that his site would generate the more awareness and discussion in the world community, thus creating more of a danger to the young prince and his military colleagues.

Drudge has placed several links on his Web site to British media outlets that have come out with the story since his initial breaking of the silence. To me, it seems as if Drudge is sending a message with this; something like, "Yeah, I did it. But they're doing it too!" Though the news blackout has some people questioning whether the Ministry of Defense and the British press coming to such an agreement is ethical, Drudge's motivation seems to be solely for a juicy news story. His avaunt-garde style does not seem to provide ample information for a democratic public, but instead, creates a trend of sensationalism (re: Monica and Bill). While the media blackout was not binding, even for the British media, and the First Amendment allows anyone to say what they please, I believe that if Drudge really cared about the good of the people, he would learn when to keep his mouth shut.

Newspapers on Newspapers

In our class discussions about the situation of the The Los Angeles Times this week, I began to wonder how this publication had been handling the news of its troubles with their publisher, David Hiller, and its corporate parent, the Tribune Co. To be completely honest would certainly undermine many readers' faith in the paper, but the situation cannot be simply overlooked. With several other news sources covering the ongoing staff and budget cuts, the Times can either ignore the problem, or step in with their own perspective.

In researching this particular situation, I found testaments from editors who had been in similar situations on Indiana University's School of Journalism web site. When confronted with being less than perfect in the eyes of the public, these newspapers took different routes from covering itself, to waiting for other outlets to cover what they could and let the publicity die down. The respective danger of these tactics of course, would be the bias that may come through in self-coverage, or being seen as cowardly in refraining to speak about it.

In order to find how the paper had been covering its in-office issues, I went to the Times's web page and used their search engine by simply typing "David Hiller." The first listing, surprisingly, turned out to be a memo from David Hiller to his staff announcing more cuts in the newsroom and asking their continued support for his actions. This only seemed to confirm the image of Hiller that was presented in The New York Times article classifying him as a people pleaser, but someone who will continue to carry out the Tribune Co.'s wishes.

The release of this memo raised even more questions for me. Should a newspaper be completely honest when they are put in the news in an unflattering light? How much should they be required to tell? Are there issues within the company that are too sensitive for public knowledge? The case of the Times highlights many ethical issues that are still being debated within its newsroom, and at papers across the country.

Guts, Glory & Guilt

When most people think of a college football player, it conjures up the image of the perfect, all-American male hero. These young men are icons of the talent, skill and drive that Americans deem so necessary to become successful in our society. Since many consider them the prodigal sons of our country, it is hard to admit when they need to be reprimanded, or in some cases, severely penalized.

Recently, Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry, journalists at the Seattle Times, have written a series of articles called "Victory and Ruins" that investigate the University of Washington's 2000 college football team, winners of the 2001 Rose Bowl. The men that comprised this team were loved and venerated by all fans of the Huskie football program and had much respect from the wider college football community. However, behind the scenes of the gridiron action, many of the players did not have such a winning relationship with the law.

In Armstrong and Perry's series, they bring to light many of the scandals and cover-ups of the 2000 Huskie team. By paralleling the timeline of events of the football season with the underlying criminal conduct of the players, it becomes apparent that a winning season outweighed justice when it came to University of Washington football. Though the articles have helped many to understand the problems with the current rebuilding of this program, the question has been asked, how far should journalists go in exposing the lives of the Huskie athletes and administrators? Do "off-field" antics warrant less attention than game time plays?

An avid college football fan myself, I can understand the hero worship that accompanies the sport. However, someone who has earned the privilege to play for such a program also takes on the burden of constant vigilance by the media. This is especially true for the administrators who have taken on leadership roles in the college and in the community. As model citizens they should behave as such, and when they do not, they should be as subject to the media, and the law, as all other citizens are.

AP: Advancing Periodicals or Augmenting Prices?

Last summer, the Associated Press announced a new payment plan for its customers that allows the purchase of its stories "a la carte", rather than charging a lump sum for any number of articles that it has produced. The plan was created to help newspapers and periodicals save money in an economy that is not in their favor and is also meant to tailor to the specific interests of these individual publications by keeping their options flexible. This new form of payment will not take effect until 2009, but already there has been ample protest from newspapers who are dissatisfied with this plan.

The complaint of many editors is that the new pricing system will not lower prices, but rather, keep them the same or even raise them. AP President Tom Curley has admitted that, ""about 80% would get a cutback, 10% will remain the same and 10% would go up." This seems like a good deal for most newspapers, but is the AP in a position to make such a deal with its customers?

If you look at any newspaper these days, a good percentage (sometimes most) of the stories used are from the AP. Without these stories, much of the news that we depend on would be absent. Indeed, local news would be highly available, but national and international news would be hard to come by. Becasue newspapers and the general public rely so much on the services of the AP, should it be free to make its own restructuring decisions, or do they have the responsibility to provide for those who depend on it? As one of the biggest names and most trusted sources in the news community, ethically, the AP must choose wisely.

For Journalists, Ethics Are A Way Of Life

Question: When should a journalist be aware of how their actions are reflecting on their employer? Anwer: All of the time.

Sid Hartman, a writer for the Star Tribune, has been put in some ethical hot water recently for appearing in a commercial for Sun Country Airlines, a company that frequently runs ads in the Star Tribune. Hartman did not consult with his editors before appearing in the commercial and claimed that he was giving the company free advertising by holding a Star Tribune and claiming to be reading "the greatest newspaper in the world."

The major concern in this issue is whether this apparent show of brand loyalty would affect how the newspaper would cover stories about the airline company and its competitors. While some could say that Hartman was merely supporting his paper, it could also be said that he ignored ethical principles to earn a quick buck. While his decision was obviously not the greatest, it brings to light how journalists must sign on to an ethical lifestyle before their first by line is in print.