News Producing: Ethics
Now there's a strong word--"ethics." Sounds like you're still in school, or getting a lecture from some veteran who's been in the business since television was invented. The goal is to break down that term and answer the question "what is news?"
IS NEWS CRIME?
Yes. And no. The first thing people think of when they turn on the news is "who shot who today?" Crime stories are probably one of the easier ones to cover...all you need is a reporter and photographer--send them out to interview a representative at the crime scene and get some b-roll of flashing police lights near the crime scene and you're set. What an excellent reader for your 11pm newscast, right? Maybe.
Professor Bob Papper at Ball State University defines six areas in his book "Broadcast News Writing Stylebook" as to what news is:
Health Issues
Money Issues
Crime
Weather
Prominent People
The Unusual
The goal, as a producer, is to incorporate a good blend of these topics. Crime experts estimate 97 percent of Americans are not involved in acts of violence everyday. So if we fill a newscast with crime stories, we are reporting what is happening in the lives of 3 percent of our audience, not the other 97 which is numerically more important.
WHO CARES AND WHY?
In other words, why does the audience watch your newscast, other than for the five-day outlook in weather? Let's take those six areas and break them down into why people are interested in them:
Health Issues - we're all concerned about if things are potentially good or bad for us...and we want to know--the news reports that. Is there a new medicine out there that can cure a disease in the community? Is there a test that can detect a certain type of cancer in its early stages which gives doctors the ability to save years on the patient's life? We're concerned about things relating to the well-being of our bodies, and look to our news to show us what's out there.
Money Issues - "Its my money--is it time to back out of that investment or bank?" This is what people want to know when they watch the money report. People don't care if the stock market drops 6 points in one day (unless the market's total value is only 6 points). They want to know about significant changes that will affect their "TOTAL BALANCE" box on the monthly statement.
Crime - we're facinated with violent and non-violent crime. Why, who knows... someone is doing a study on it right now, probably--a definite news story when they release their findings.
Weather - a report by Fitzpatrick Associates in San Francisco says there are three reasons people watch the weather, in order of importance: current conditions, tomorrow's forecast, and the five day outlook. Do they care about nimbus thunderclouds and other weather phenomenon? Not really...they're only interested in knowing whether or not to carry an umbrella that day.
Prominent People - famous people are supposed to be angels, right? And when they aren't, the audience wants to know about it. Don't ask why.......we, as humans, are facinated with the ones we label as "popular."
The Unusual - Most of America, in whatever town, city, state they live in; or whatever social class, they believe they are "normal." So when something happens in real life that you usually only see in the movies, the story gets their attention. Many newscasts end their program with these unusual stories as "kickers." (see the Producer's Dictionary) Or they're used as the last story before the commercial break to get the audience's attention--usually teased right before going to break to try to "hang on" to the audience through the commercials.
You have to take all these factors into consideration. This is why people are interested in news--but what are we, as broadcast journalists, "supposed to report?"
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT SAYS ABOUT THE TOPIC
AND REGULATION OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS
The FCC says a station's role is to broadcast in the interest, convenience, and necessity of the audience. News, by its very nature, has not been heavily regulated over the past 40 years. We only see news's results in the public spotlight when journalists break the rules. Examples are the meat packing company investigation on ABC where undercover workers with cameras fabricated information on applications to get positions in the company; or when Dateline NBC simulated a gas tank exploding to show what "could" happen if a defect in a certain type of vehicle was to be fatal. The government doesn't really have much to say about what "is" and "isn't" news. If they did, the first shows to be regulated would be the glamorized programs such as Inside Edition or Hard Copy where their "news magazine" is missing the "news" aspect.
News is very much a "definition in progress." That definition is made by the professionals in the field--the people reporting the stories and making the news judgements.
DETERMINING WHAT NEWS IS
There's many "factors" that all add into the big equation of "what is news?" What makes each market so unique is the elements that news gatherers must work around to get the story. This is why no one market is exactly the same as another. One large factor in any market is geography. Does of your coverage area have mountains? Does your news van have to climb them everytime you go to cover a story in one part of your coverage area? Can your remote unit reach the big red tower on the other side of the mountain? That geographical aspect makes a difference in what you can cover in a specific amount of time. That big hill helps you determine what is and is not news. In the areas without the mountains, how far are you from the scene? Is the story important enough to cover at such a distance? What about time? Do you have enough time to go climb the mountain? And finally, does your viewers really care about the story? Do your viewers care more about a guy who has a facination with birds in his backyard, compared to a health story about a prescription that causes side effects? These are all things you, as the producer, must consider in a relatively short amount of time (usually seconds).
ATTRIBUTION
I'm "allegedly" telling you this--which means it won't hold up in a court of law. Get what I mean? The word doesn't do anything for you in court--so why use it on the air? It doesn't protect you.
Attribution is probably one of the biggest problems in news. Its what causes the most lawsuits and problems. Here's what we're talking about:
PROBLEM: The man allegedly shot Bob Cobb to death.
GOOD: Police say the man shot Bob Cobb to death.
The whole idea with giving correct attribution is to say who gave you the information. The word "allegedly" is another word for "questionable" to the viewer. If you have the information, you got it somewhere...tell where or who it is, and solve the attribution problem. That way the person who you're quoting gets sued and not your station.
WHAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE OF BEING A PRODUCER?
One word: ACCURACY. Get the story right, and get it right the first time. Don't cause retractions and law suits. Be accurate, objective, and fair.
