When Journalists Lie Who Can We Trust?

Erika Barth
eb210312@ohio.edu

Honesty and integrity have always made up a large component of what separates a journalist from anyone with an opinion. We turn to them when we want the facts, and have become conditioned to believe that what is said is the truth. While it's no secret that everyone has lied at some point in time, journalists are held to a higher standard since they are broadcasting to the public.

It's hard to say what posses journalists to fabricate the truth. The same could be said with politicians for that matter, but the main point to take away is the fact that a profession founded on truth is heavily damaged when a journalist is caught in a lie. Credibility is everything to a journalist, and without that, say goodbye to the career of your dreams (or so it should go).

An interesting point that Carol Marin makes is that "there are no laws of news... it ends up being sort of your own guiding compass that will determine what you will and won't do." Unfortunately, in recent years, not all journalists have used a compass that pointed due North.

Take for example, Brian Williams, who is best known for his role as NBC's Nightly News anchor for nearly 10 years. Up until early February of 2015, millions would watch his news report unsuspecting of any fowl play. This all changed though when Williams was caught fabricating a story about his location in a helicopter during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Not only was Williams caught saying his version of the truth once, but multiple times on live tv! That's pretty scary considering he's a guy we are supposed to trust. A following investigation included close to 10 other incidents where ethical boundaries may have been crossed. So why would he choose to lie?   

 

Surprisingly enough, while his reputation was severely damaged, MSNBC decided to hire Williams back in June 2015. While he did lose his current position, I still find it quite hard to believe that the company would hire him back considering the amount of other incidents that were found during the investigation. This really speaks to the kind of organization and integrity that NBC doesn't apparently care about.

 Is this someone we really want to see presenting news again? Although second chances are great, I don't think this was a great move made by NBC.

We as viewers should be aware that not everything presented should be accepted without proper evaluation and fact checking. As this scandal suggests, even someone that is perceived as credible can't always be trusted.

While this incident does not represent the standards that every journalist chooses to adopt, it does not help plead the case that viewers can trust everything that is being presented on news mediums. A word to the wise is to be cautious of every so called "fact." Although I'm not saying disregard every journalist completely, it's time for the public to start doing some more research on of our own.