Commentary
John McManus
Short-term economic logic is supplanting journalistic thinking in many American newsrooms faster than a sniffle spreads in a daycare. The two sets of rules aren't always at war, but they conflict more than coincide. The collision is nearly head-on in local television and at some web sites, but also threatens to total some newspapers.
What can be done?
In 1994, I examined how markets increasingly shape news (Market-Driven Journalism: Let the Citizen Beware?) In that analysis I despaired of "professional" journalists imposing their standards on the newsroom. Having been a reporter, I knew even top editors were just employees. We did as we were told or left.
How about moral suasion? History often exposes the tin ears that the captains of industry turn toward moral crusaders.
Enhanced ethics emphasis in journalism education? Graduates entering the newsroom are in an even weaker position to argue with management than established journalists.
One thing that hadn't been tried was consumer education. With encouragement from folks like Steve Chaffee, Ben Bagdikian, Cliff Christians, Phil Meyer, Ted Glasser and Betty Medsger, I'm attempting an experiment: Grade the News seeks to do for news what Consumer Reports does for toasters: Make it accountable to the public. As students would say, "Check it out —" (the Web address is www.gradethenews.org).
We hope to create a low-cost model that can be replicated (and improved) in metro areas nationally. (Instead of wringing their hands, journalism professors can influence the environment into which they graduate their students.)
Here's the logic. News is poorly suited for the marketplace because consumers cannot readily evaluate its quality. Beyond simple events like sports scores and highway closures, consumers have to trust, first, that reporters get it right, and second, that the news really contains the significant events of the day. "Buying" blind, consumers often are taken advantage of in an un-regulated, self-interested marketplace. The problem is worst at the local level where the market offers fewer choices.
News that entertains more than it enlightens enriches media owners, but destroys civic capital. It gnaws at democracy's weakest pillar — citizens' limited interest in becoming informed enough to govern themselves wisely.
Our goal is to help citizens find news that empowers them. By directing attention to excellent journalism and exposing shoddy work, we hope to use the market to influence decisions in local newsrooms. San Francisco Bay Area journalists have already expressed the hope that such a site would give them ammunition when they argue for quality with profit-minded managers. Stations or papers consistently ranking at the top of these independent evaluations might gain audience, particularly among the well-educated consumers that advertisers most value.
Will such a project make a difference? Consumer reporting interests large audiences: Consumer Reports outsells Time, even Sports Illustrated. Because the subjects of our coverage are local media "stars" and because our content will be frequently provocative and disturbing, a considerable audience is possible. To generate audience preferences big enough to affect news organizations' bottom lines, however, we may have to coordinate the Web site with vivid monthly television reporting on news ethics aired over local PBS stations. (A project that would combine the interests of television journalism students and students from the critical school?)
Public praise and shame can be powerful motivators of behavior. For example, the state of Missouri recently rated its hospitals for consumers. Within a year, quality indices rose dramatically.
Grade the News has just begun. Your critique, however blunt, would be much appreciated.
Author
A former journalist and
journalism professor, John McManus
is now a full-time media researcher living in the San Francisco area. He welcomes
your messages via e-mail.