Recent news ups the ante — and may squeeze out what used to be 'scandals'
I was walking with a longtime reporter Thursday evening when he said that aspects of investigative reporting were getting harder these days.
It’s a golden era, I replied.
“That’s just the point,” he said. There’s so much out there, and much of it is so outrageous, that what used to be a big investigative piece is a ho-hum story now. He recalled that the downfall of televangelist Jim Bakker came with evidence of payments to a mistress.
Contrast that with events of recent days:
— After denials, President Trump now says he repaid his lawyer for payoffs to porn star to cover up a reported affair before the 2016 vote.
— Who professed they didn’t know about the Trump payoffs? The White House counsel, the press secretary, his chief of staff.
— Trump produced a bogus letter of health during the 2016 election that he himself dictated, while criticizing the health of opponent Hillary Clinton, his onetime doctor said.
— At least six former Trump officials who pledged not to lobby for five years are now registered lobbyists — and more are doing that work without registering.
— U.S. officials last year lost track of 1,475 children it placed in sponsored homes after deporting their parents.
It does seem that a type of scandal inflation is happening. "Does it bother anyone that President Trump has been caught lying?" veteran Post political reporter Dan Balz wrote.
Which leads to … your view
Can facts and solid presentation even prompt discussion these days, when beliefs trump facts among so many? Is it getting harder for journalists to do their jobs? Here are a few reader responses to my query Wednesday:
From Joanne Ritter: “We don't react to facts. Despite recent attempts to the contrary, we can't change facts. But we can change the story (narrative) and our reaction to the story. Changing the way the story is framed may change someone's reaction … Currently, many journalists seem to see everything as a horse race or a zero-sum game, because controversy sells. In our current climate, this is not only lazy, it is dangerous.”
Micah Danney: “I avoid being stubborn about forcing any premise. Widespread rejection of a 100 percent factual premise is as much a part of the story as the bare facts, and we need to dig into that — particularly to find what facts are not wholly disputed, and build real discussion from those.”
Eno Laget: “I believe we are stuck because all of us are in denial.”
D.S. Reyburn: “We don’t know who to trust, what to believe, or how to get back to a common understanding of and respect for truth in journalism. Worse, all many Americans can do in response is scream in frustration. So they do.”
Quick hits
NOBEL, TOO: Sex assault scandal prompts the Nobel Prizes not to award a prize in literature this year; the organization says two prizes will be awarded in 2019.
NBC'S BIG CORRECTION: The network posted a blockbuster story early Thursday afternoon that said federal investigators had "wiretapped the phone lines of Michael Cohen." Hours later, it corrected it to say that the content of the calls were not monitored, only the logs of the calls were.
IMPRISONED, BUT HONORED: Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo reported on Myanmar’s raping, killing and forced removal of its Rohingya minority. For that reporting, the two journalists were imprisoned in December. For that, on Thursday, they won the Osborn Elliott Prize For Excellence in Reporting in Asia, the Asia Society announced.
NYT ON TV: During its quarterly call with analysts about its earnings, CEO Mark Thompson dropped the news that the paper was getting into television. First up: a how-we-got-the-story, a la “Spotlight,” focusing on the Times’ reporting on the Harvey Weinstein case. There’s also talk about a weekly version of popular podcast “The Daily.” By the way, Times revenue growth was up 3.8 percent year-to-year. Via Poynter's Rick Edmonds.
MORE EARNINGS: New Media Investment Group, parent company of Gatehouse Media, reported that revenue for the quarter was $340.8 million, up nearly 11 percent compared with 2017. The company, through GateHouse, currently owns 144 daily newspapers nationwide.
CITY BACKS ‘FULL EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE’ FOR PAPER: Faced with its local newspaper being sucked dry by a hedge fund owner, Boulder, Colorado, passed a resolution calling for the 128-year-old newspaper’s freedom to do journalism. Its mayor paraphrased Thomas Jefferson in saying he’d support The Daily Camera, even when it writes “editorials that make us crazy.” A council member bemoaned the hedge fund’s firing of editor Dave Krieger for publicizing how the owners were destroying the paper. Krieger was exceptional, councilwoman Cindy Carlisle said, “even though he never endorsed me."
RESIGNED: Chuck Plunkett, the editorial editor of the hedge fund-owned Denver Post, after a new editorial describing the destruction of the paper was rejected by the ownership. Via Brian Stelter.
BUZZY, BUT DOES IT WORK?: We’re talking about the trend toward audience engagement. Jacob Nelson took a closer look at some companies pitching their services to help newsrooms in that endeavor and wonders if there are any metrics to prove what they’re doing is working. From his piece in CJR: “Is more engagement something audiences want? Maybe, maybe not. Research that investigates that question would be helpful in corroborating whether or not the gut instincts that are compelling publishers to partner with organizations like Hearken are supported by evidence …”
BLINDSIDED: That’s how some reporters at the New York Times are describing their reaction to Times reporter Amy Chozick’s book, “Chasing Hillary.” The gossipy and revealing nature of the internal politics of the Times has left some hurt feelings, writes BuzzFeed’s Steven Perlberg.
TIMELY: A new website devoted to offering women journalists career advice just launched. The idea sprang from women’s leadership programs run by Poynter and the Online News Association. Spearheaded by former Poynter faculty member Katie Hawkins-Gaar, digitalwomenleaders.com features alumnae of the seminars who will be available for one-on-one coaching. All you have to do is sign up.
HIRED: Amanda McCartney sold podcast sponsorships and ads at Slate. The New York Times has hired her in advertising as the newly created director of audio and podcasts. McCartney, who previously worked at the Washington Post and HuffPost, will sell inventory on Times podcasts such as “Still Processing,” the NYT announced.
LEAVING: Peter King, after 29 years at Sports Illustrated. A prolific chronicler of all things NFL, he also helped create and launch the standalone website MMQB. From the story: “Peter, in my opinion, is one of the five most important figures in SI history,” says SI editor-in-chief, Chris Stone. CNN reports that King has signed with NBC Sports.
NO GLOOM AND DOOM HERE: Bloomberg’s John Micklethwait, launching a paywall for his site, takes an optimistic viewpoint about the future of news. “Is journalism really in such a parlous state? Look closer. News is an industry in transition, not in decline. It is reemerging as something more digital, more personalized, more automated, more paid for — and (eventually) less fake.” It’s not all rosy, he concedes, but it’s the pep talk many people need right now.
MEANWHILE, IN MEXICO: A resurgence of fake news, as elections approach, by Ioan Grillo.
OPPORTUNITY: The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education — a nonprofit dedicated to making newsrooms look like America — is seeking applications from journalists and storytellers of color nationwide for its pilot Maynard 200 Fellowship. Maynard 200 aims to expand the diversity pipeline in media by training 200 diverse journalists in the next five years. The first program will bring together 15 participants for two weeks of training. Here’s a link with more info on how to apply.
WHO ARE THESE GUYS?: A whole new crop of conservative websites are cropping up as local news organizations shrink or disappear altogether. Labeled “baby Breitbarts,” the sites have names such as the Tennessee Star, the Arizona Advocate and the Maine Examiner and look similar to real news sites. Politico’s Jason Schwartz profiles some of the people behind them.
What we’re reading
THE WORDS THAT SURVIVED: Moments before her death, Vilma Grunwald wrote the note to her husband and gave it to a guard. Miraculously, the Auschwitz guard delivered it. Her son, who was 6 at the time and is now in his 80s, found the yellowed note going through his dad's things. In it, there is only love. By Will Higgins of the Indianapolis Star.
A FORMULA FOR CRIME: Moms run this organized venture outside the law, by Chris Pomorski for the upcoming NYT Sunday Magazine.
ALL IN: New Yorker writer Maria Konnikova, trying out poker as a stunt for her new book, has won so much money she has pushed back publication. “Everything kind of came together,” Poker News quoted her as saying.
PASSIVE?: The statues honoring Confederate women — and the men who designed them — are problematic on a whole different level. By Ellen Ann Fentress for The Baffler.
CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD: That’s what Twitter is recommending after what it’s calling a computer glitch.
TIN SOLDIERS, NIXON: From Chrissie Hynde to Devo, how the Kent State Massacre changed pop music.
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