Covering Breaking Stories and Accuracy

Hunter Graffice
hg551416@ohio.edu

In today's society, journalists are expected to report on a story almost instantly. The 24/7 news cycle has created an environment where journalists need to get a story out as quickly as possible, but the ethical challenge is reporting the story accurately and making sure it is fair to the sources/people affected.

In the past weekend, a shooting occurred in a Pittsburgh synagogue. A few hours after the initial reports came in, media outlets as big as People were reporting that one of the victims was a Holocaust survivor. The news spread like wildfire and the detail about one of the victims being a Holocaust survivor was especially haunting, but it wasn't even true. However, the story had already been spread as thousands, and probably millions, of Americans read the story. A tweet even went viral, spreading the misinformation to at least 300,000 different people. A correction was later issued, but the damage had already been done. Thousands of Americans believed, and some still believe, that one of the victims was a Holocaust survivor. The fact that the victim was not a Holocaust survivor does not lessen the atrocity of the event or change the story. Yet, there will be an enormous effect because of the mistake. In future arguments, proponents of gun control will cite the fact that the victim survived the Holocaust only to be killed in an American synagogue. Thus, misinformation will breed false claims and arguments that simply aren't true, creating a maelstrom of complacency and ignorance at the fault of the journalist.

Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Times

When information like that is falsely reported, it only further emboldens claims of "fake news" and the idea of the media being an enemy of the public. As the president continues to use this dialogue, it's imperative for journalists and news organizations to be completely accurate in their reporting and ensure that the truth is being told in these stories.

An element for journalists to keep in mind is the effect the words will have on the public and on those affected. In the story above, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people were exposed to a false piece of information. That detail shaped thousands of viewpoints and the story as a whole. By remembering the impact of details, it encourages journalists to value accuracy and transparency above anything else.

The best thing for a journalist to do is to acknowledge that they must be quick in their reporting and present the facts as they are. Also, they must recognize that telling an accurate story is much more important and carries much more weight than pushing out a story just to be the first to report it. While it sounds easy in theory, this of course is much more difficult in practice. However, audiences value the truth and by keeping the idea of accuracy in their mind, journalists can still report quickly and publish an engaging story. The fate of those affected, and the entire story, rests on it.