Format: Internet Journalism and the Starr Investigation To: ELLIE From: ELLIE Re: March 31, 2005 The Starr Investigation was an important time in journalism, because it forced the traditional media to overhaul their ways of presenting news online in order to meet the needs and demands of Internet users. New technology was used in this case to break the news of the scandal, to voice new allegations, and to release in its entirety Starr’s final report of the investigation. This case provided the first detailed look at the differences in character between the Internet and traditional broadcast and print media. The ethical issues in Internet Journalism and the Starr Investigation: 1. Was this a legitimate news story? 2. Intense journalistic competition? “Journalists of all stripes were chasing the story.” 3.
CREDIBILITY of the paper? Reporting Facts that in the end proved false. Editors doubtful of the story’s accuracy? The reliability of the information? 4. The Value of Verification to get the story right? 5. Anonymous Sourcing/ Unidentified Sources – “Journalists scrambled to confirm the allegations, but often ended up running them with only anonymous sourcing.” 6.
Speed, sensation and conjecture over accuracy? CNN’s Scott Woelfel says he sensed in the early going that, ‘there was an attitude of, ‘I don’t know if we could put this in the paper, but we could put it on the Web site’.’ 7. News Leakage? Certain sources in the independent counsel’s office were using the press, selectively leaking information to gain tactical advantage with reluctant witnesses like Lewinsky. McManus recalls. “So there was clearly a lot of leakage.” 8.
The Essay on Ambush Journalism
Ambush is the act or instance of lying concealed so as to attack by surprise. Journalism is the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news. Ambush Journalism is commonly seen in American public affairs and tabloid programs. Ambush Journalism has been around for as long as we can remember and will continue to be around in the future. The question however is if ...
The breaking of the story. Matt Drudge breaking the story through his online newsletter? – Wire services sent the story worldwide. Cable networks, radio shows, and local television newscasts led with the report. Larry King interrupted his program to read the story live.
9. The story was so explosive that Bill Clinton’s attorney called Nightline and DENIED the story on the air. 10. SHAKY SOURCING? Reports were based around shaky sourcing. – The Dallas Morning News and the Wall Street Journal reported that the president and the intern had been seen together in a compromising situation. – Starr’s staff member called the source to take back the claim because it was FALSE.
– Langer told the employees that the News had unwittingly relied on only one source to publish its original story. 11. Timing and public interest 12. Violating the paper’s two-source standard. 13. Miscommunication – Senior editors mistakenly believed that a second source existed because of a “miscommunication” between Dallas and the Washington bureau.
14. Competitive pressures -The competitive pressure of getting the story first, instead of getting the story right? 15. Did the Dallas Morning News sort out the truth and fulfill their responsibility to the truth? 16. The ACCURACY of reports on the wire? 17. Did the editors ask themselves “How do we know this?” 18. The final report issued by investigator Kenneth Starr and widely carried in full on the Web? 19.
The Value of the Internet? The public seems to value the Internet as a source for unfiltered and un analyzed information. Did the media handle this correctly? 20. The relationship between the reporters and editors? The relationship between the newspapers? 21. Were the reporters and editors doing journalism? News organizations faced a number of decisions: 1. How to handle the explicit language and descriptions of conduct described in the report? 2.
Whether to print excerpts or the full text of the report? 3. Whether to publish it on line in the same format in which it had first been released by the White house? 4. Whether the report’s contents should be filtered by the traditional news role of “gatekeepers.” Internet Journalism and the Starr Investigation crucial moment in the Internet’s coming of age was an eight-month investigation of the president of the United State during 1998. The investigation was led by independent counsel Kenneth Starr, focused on whether President Clinton had had a sexual affair with a 24-year-old White House intern named Monica Lewinsky and had lied about it under oath to a federal grand jury. The highly political scandal ended in the president’s impeachment by the House of Representatives, although he avoided conviction or removal from office by the Senate. The scandal lasted more than a year..
The Essay on Internet Censorship 12
Internet Censorship The Internet is a wonderful place of entertainment and education, but like all places used by millions of people, it has some murky corners people would prefer children not to explore. In the physical world, society as a whole wants to protect children, but there are no social or physical constraints to Internet surfing. The Internet Censorship Bill of 1995, also known as the ...
