News organizations should worry about ethics not ratings

By Darren Friedel, On-line Forty-Niner

July 16,1998

Both the Cable News Network and Time magazine have joined the ranks of the highly respected, but badly tarnished news organizations.

The first installment of the news magazine show "News-Stand," a joint venture with Time magazine, featured allegations that the U.S. Army had used sarin nerve gas in a secret 1970 mission in Laos. The nerve gas was supposedly used with the intention of killing American defectors.

An independent investigation, done at CNN's request, revealed the report's conclusions to be unsupported by the evidence. CNN officials, after learning that the report used insufficient evidence, retracted the broadcast.

Time magazine also retracted the article it ran on the same story.

The media, especially investigative segments, are in danger of losing their credibility.

Respected news organizations should not stoop to the levels of tabloids like the National Enquirer and Star magazine in order to obtain an audience.

CNN obtained an audience because of its high ethical standards, and people watch CNN because they want the true news. People read the National Enquirer when they want far-fetched entertainment.

After the story was found to be inaccurate, CNN's Peter Arnett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, was reprimanded for his work on the story.

Senior Executive Producer Pamela Hill resigned and producers April Oliver and Jack Smith were dismissed.

Unfortunately, these people join other respected journalists that tarnished their careers by falsifying or creating stories.

The New Republic's Stephen Glass admitted to creating all or part of some 25 articles in less than a year.

The Washington Post's Janet Cooke had her Pulitzer Prize taken away after it was discovered the story she won the prize for was a product of her imagination.

The Boston Globe's Patricia Smith created imaginary characters for her column.

These unethical journalists have started a bad trend, which has caused news organizations to spend an incredible amount of time covering other news organizations. Instead of being the bearer of news, news organizations have become the news.

If the media believe they must compete with tabloids, they will lose news judgement and gain obscurity.

The more the media creates stories to gain an audience, the less trust the audience will have for the organization. And in the news business, trust is the only thing that keeps the audience.

Darren Friedel is the editor in chief of the Summer Forty-Niner.