Political reporters examine ethics

Panel of journalists look into role of media as government watchdogs

Flaws and cynicism about political reporting, and the public's perception of the media were examined by a panel of five visiting professional journalists for Journalism Day '95 Thursday.

The panel's topic, "Political Reporters: Watchdogs or Attack Dogs?," analyzed the media's coverage of current events, and in some cases, its lack of reporting certain hot issues.

The panel, moderated by Susan Paterno of Chapman University and former journalism faculty member of CSULB, consisted of Dan Bolton, former executive editor of Leader Newspapers; Alex Sullivan, political reporter for KNX News Radio; Thair Peterson, Long Beach Press-Telegram reporter; and Todd Brooks, a member of public relations for Gladstone International.

In her opening remarks, Paterno defined "watchdog reporting," as those representatives of the media who can give clear and analytical reports about politics and politicians, in order to form a concise and informed perspective for the public that has put their trust in the media.

Paterno also questioned if the role of political reporters has metaorphosed from that of, "watchdogs to attack dogs to sleaze dogs."

The most prominent issue of the discussion was the bankruptcy of Orange County, where reports on portfolios that could not be deciphered by many economic experts used by the Orange County Register and other leading newspapers may have caused journalists not to come forth with the story in a timely manner. The city's bankruptcy led to the departure of Robert Citron, former treasurer of Orange County.

The one time that "political watchdogs did not bark," Paterno said, was in the case of Orange County, where reporters kept quiet on allegations of Citron's dealings and the portfolios that led to Orange County's bankruptcy.

Sullivan pointed out that newspaper readership has gone down in the last few years, and that viewership of cable television shows, such as CNN's "Larry King Show" and MTV has risen because the public wants to hear and see the news on television, rather than reading newspapers.

Based on his involvement with the Society of Professional Journalists and their code of ethics, Bolton identified these three areas of concern to journalists: invasion of privacy, where should journalists draw the line; horse-race journalism, the reducing of political coverage to who's ahead and who's losing, and ignoring political issues because of it; and fairness and accuracy, which he defined as finding the heart of the story to report all aspects of it.