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| UNFIT TO PRINT? | |
 July 1, 1998  |
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From Stephen Glass's concocted stories in The New Republic to the controversial inaugural issue of Brill's Content, the ethical lapses of the media have made headlines recently. Are journalistic standards under assault from new commercial pressures? After this background report, a panel addresses that and other questions.
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SPENCER MICHELS: Recently, some of the people who write the news are making it--bringing the ethics and reliability of news gathering--and reporting--into the spotlight.  In May, the editors of The New Republic magazine discovered their reporter, Stephen Glass, had fabricated facts, sources, and quotes in 27 articles over the last three years. The magazine published an apology, and immediately terminated the 25-year-old reporter's contract--as did Harpers, George, and Rolling Stone-all publications Glass contributed to. Glass apologized for his actions, but offered no explanation.
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| Fake quotes and fake people at the Boston Globe. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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In another case of journalism under fire, Time Magazine and CNN announced a formal investigation into the accuracy of a report broadcast on CNN's newly launched news magazine show "Newsstand: CNN & Time". The controversial report accused the army of using nerve gas to hunt down and kill American defectors during the Vietnam War. The report was also published in Time Magazine. CNN ANCHOR: A "Newsstand: CNN & Time" investigation has revealed that- SPENCER MICHELS: CNN was also criticized for leading its regular newscasts with the controversial investigative report. The story itself has been challenged by other news organizations, including Time's rival--Newsweek Magazine --which published a story raising doubt about the allegations of American use of nerve gas. |
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| An era "vibrating with the din of small voices"? | ||||||||||||||||||||
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And critics have challenged the reliability of some online news services. Matt Drudge, creator of a political gossip and news Web site, caused a stir by breaking the Monica Lewinsky story before other mainstream media thought it was ready for publication. Criticized for not checking his facts, Drudge defended his work at the National Press Club last month and speculated about the future of news.
SPENCER MICHELS: Amid all these cases of questionable journalism, a new watchdog of the |
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| Brill admits that mistakes were made. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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But Brill's own reporting methods came under fire before the ink was dry. Many journalists accused Brill of misquoting sources, not getting some of his facts correct, and quoting people out of context. Brill eventually had to apologize to the Wall Street Journal for misreporting some facts. But he defended himself--and his magazine-on NBC's "Meet the Press."
SPENCER MICHELS: One newspaper that was admitting a mistake last week was the Cincinnati Enquirer. The paper fired reporter Michael |
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Soon after--it was a respected Boston Globe columnist who apparently transgressed. Patricia Smith resigned after her editors discovered she had fabricated people and quotes in four of her columns published this year. The Globe discovered Ms. Smith's fabrications during normal monitoring by senior editors who occasionally double check columnists' sources.
MATT DRUDGE: We have entered an era vibrating with the din of small voices. Every citizen can be a reporter, can take on the powers that be. The Net gives as much voice to a 13-year-old computer geek like me as to a CEO or Speaker of the House. We all become equal-and you would be amazed what the ordinary guy knows.
media--Brill's Content--hit the newsstands last month. The magazine's lead article, written by publisher and editor Steven Brill was a sharp, critical look at the media's coverage of the Monica Lewinsky story. Brill asserted that many of the early articles and reports on the Lewinsky case were based on innuendo and unnamed, unconfirmed sources. He also claimed that in their over-reliance on leaks, some reporters allowed themselves to be manipulated by key players in the story.
STEVEN BRILL: I am proud of this article. But I am willing to admit my mistakes, and I have a reputation for that. And one of the reasons I started this magazine is that the rest of the media never seems to be willing to admit even the smallest mistake.
Gallagher for "theft" in obtaining voice-mail information from Chiquita Brands for use in a May 3rd report on Chiquita's business practices in Central America. In a front page story Sunday, the Enquirer's editor and publisher said: "We want to send a strong message that deception and unlawful conduct has no place in legitimate news reporting at the Enquirer." The paper has agreed to pay Chiquita Brands more than $10 million.
