By Rebecca Carlson
A panel discussion entitled “The Ethics of Crime Reporting” was held in the Axinn Library Thursday, Oct. 25. The panel consisted of print and broadcast reporters and editors from Newsday, The New York Daily News, The New York Post, as well as a private investigator.
The event was sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and moderated by Carolyn James, an adjunct professor of journalism and editor- in-chief of the Massapequa Post, a local weekly publication. For two hours, the panel discussed the ethics of writing, reporting and editing of articles involving crime and the police.
Reporters and editors shared ethical dilemmas they experienced in their careers and asked students to determine the most ethical choice.
Approximately 90 audience members attended, according to Carl Corry’s blog for the Press Club of Long Island. The poor acoustics of the room and lack of microphones were problematic. Many audience members were overheard remarking on how they couldn’t hear anything. Despite these complications, most students in the audience appeared diligent in their note taking and participation.
Halfway through the discussion, the topic turned to the code of ethics involved with the profession of journalism. Rosemary McManus, Newsday’s Long Island editor, discussed an example in which a source gave relevant information to her reporter in an interview that changed the facts of the story as it was to be reported. Immediately following the statement, the source said the information was off the record. She then led a short discussion with students as they decided whether they would run the story.
After the discussion, McManus revealed her decision as editor. She thought it would be unethical to run the piece when she knew it would only be half the story.
Every journalist lives by a code of ethics; they seek truth to report and are required to be honest and fair, according to the SPJ’s “Code of Ethics.” “People trust us, because they know the code of ethics exists,” said Kieran Crowley of The New York Post, adding that a journalist should never write something he or she knows is half of the truth.
Despite this code of ethics, many panelists agreed that the future of newspaper reporting is in jeopardy. Reporters are finding that readers trust the newspaper industry less and less. According to an article from The Washington Post, newspaper sales have been declining for the past 20 years. Crowley attributes it to the fact that fewer “crusading” investigative stories make the paper and that there is more of a focus on celebrity news and entertainment. Crowley said citizens think newspapers are only for advertising, that “news doesn’t represent people anymore,” and the corporations that publish papers “care only about making a buck.”