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How ‘breaking news’ got broken

by at 12:37 pm 3 Comments

snakeoilHow exactly did the process of gathering news get to this point? 

We have allowed news readers to go on-the-air and vomit ambiguous language that holds no one accountable.

This is not the first time we have witnessed the media—with its authoritative voice and sheer power—destroy its own credibility.

The reporting of terrorism this week at the Boston Marathon, and the subsequent manhunt for the two suspects, left many ordinary people miffed about how news is gathered and shared. 

These past few years, I have watched breaking news stories and 24-hour channels that have repeatedly made sloppy assumptions that mainstream media should never have allowed. 

But it’s gotten so bad this week that people with no behind-the-scenes knowledge of how news decisions are made, have been mortified. I’ve worked as a news director and news reporter. I am beyond mortified.  

These five phrases have contributed to our damaged news coverage: 

1. “We believe that it’s likely…” My take: Accuracy trumps vague.  

2. “We are trying to follow-up on unconfirmed reports…” My take: Action trumps words. 

3. “There’s speculation from a variety of unnamed sources…” My take: Fact trumps speculation.

4. “We are just as confused as you are as we try to put the pieces together…” My take: Clarity trumps confusion.

5. “We have no new information.” My take: New information trumps empty words.

Veteran network newsman and strategist David Henderson writes:  

“The media–especially cable TV–is like a drunk on a binge, and cannot control their near-insane rush for dramatic announcements, replete with bold red warnings of apocalyptic disaster on the screen. Everything is an ‘Alert’ or ‘Breaking News.’ Yet, it seldom is. Wolf Blitzer saying over and over that John King has ‘exclusive information’ is not news. It’s promotion, publicity, boasting. As it turned in the Boston terror story, King’s ‘exclusive’ information was wrong. King was a font of misinformation … gossip.”

People around the world have been offering prayers for the victims and people of Boston.

Let us also extend a prayer for the pained news media. 

 

(Image via)

Filed Under: Crisis Communication, Journalism, media, News, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

10 PR and social media cheers and jeers from the Boston Marathon tragedy

by at 10:10 pm 2 Comments

boston marathon croppedMoments after the two initial explosions that rocked the finish line at Monday’s Boston Marathon, social media, bloggers, and traditional reporters took to various networks to ‘cover’ the unfolding story. Another opportunity for citizen journalists.  

I have watched the live coverage, video clips, tweets, and news broadcasts and have been struck by the following:  

Cheers to the people who immediately cancelled their automated tweets and postings.

Cheers to the ‘real’ PR pros that didn’t bother to call newsrooms, send releases, or pitch stories that have no obvious connection to the marathon. 

Cheers to people on Twitter who quoted their source or offered a link to a new development. Information without a source flies in the face of journalism. Well, it used to be that way. 

Cheers to people on the scene who used disclaimers when posting graphic visuals.

Cheers to the reporters who were running in the marathon for jumping into “media mode” amidst the chaos and fright.

Jeers to the chat organizers who plan to “carry on” as usual tonight.

Jeers to people posting non-related motivational quotes on Twitter. Really? 

Jeers to those playing up the Sandy Hook victims angle. Yes, there were relatives near the finish line and yes, the victims were remembered at the start of the marathon, but these folks have had enough. Leave them alone. 

Jeers to the reporters who complained on line that their assignments were changed at the last minute and they had to travel to Boston. 

Jeers to people tweeting about the Jodi Arias trial.  

Anything you would like to add?

Prayers and blessings to everyone affected by these senseless acts.

(Image via)

 

Filed Under: Journalism, media, News, Press releases, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The revolution of people who report the news

by at 3:17 pm 1 Comment

miracle-of-the-hudson-plane-crash_625x352Today marks the fourth anniversary of the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

It’s also the day that citizen journalism and Twitter transformed the way news is covered around the world.  

In 2009, the U.S. Airways flight that “Captain Sulley” was piloting hit a flock of birds, disabling the plane’s engines. Captain Sulley and his crew managed to safely land the aircraft on New York’s Hudson River. Images of 155 passengers standing on the wings of the plane awaiting rescue on that frigid January day were splashed across the media and Internet. 

And this was the day a man named Janis Krums (Yanis Krooms) made the news media and ordinary citizens come to realize that the world no longer needed a professional news crew to report breaking news.

On January 15, 2009, every person in the world was given a press pass. 

It’s the technology, silly

Krums was on a ferry when Flight 1549 crashed on the Hudson. When I interviewed him about the famous picture he took moments after the crash, he told me others on the boat were taking pictures with their cell phones, so he took a few, too.

But it was Krums who knew how to use his technology and tweet the picture. His 300 Twitter followers helped the picture to go viral, bringing citizen journalism to a new level. Krums notes that he didn’t send the picture to any media outlets; he merely tweeted it to his followers. 

“At that moment, I saw the value in what it was, but I didn’t see the value of what it could become,” said Krums. ”I don’t think anyone could see that it could be spread around the world the way it was.”

Since that day, Krums has been labeled “the most famous citizen journalist of modern times.” 

The responsibility

During the past four years, we’ve seen the challenges that come with news that breaks real-time on Twitter and social media. We are grappling with the general public that uses their technology to capture breaking news. The problem is that most don’t understand the true responsibilities that come with a press pass.  

Consider these examples:

  • The capture of Osama Bin Laden
  • The Newtown, CT school shootings 
  • The Gabby Giffords shooting in Arizona  
  • Elections 
  • Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters
  • The deaths of celebrities including Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston

 

Each of these has forced us to rethink the power of the Internet and the (hopefully) well-intentioned citizen journalists. People who are inexperienced in fact-checking and accuracy have brought a new layer to breaking news. 

Misinformation when reporting developing news stories is dangerous. 

As Krums told me, news will be reported, no matter what. ”The way it’s being reported is continuing to evolve. Traditional journalists will always be second on the scene from now on, especially in the developed world. That’s because more people have iPhones, smartphones, and video capability. If you have the ability to spread the message, you have the power.”

Let this serve as a reminder to each of us, including the mainstream media, that fact-checking and accuracy must be the priorities in covering the news. 

Anything less can not and should not be tolerated. 

(Image via)

Filed Under: Journalism, media, News, Social Media, Technology, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The fine line between news and humanity

by at 4:54 am 4 Comments

“I didn’t read the paper today, but I saw the Post.”

That’s been a long-running joke in New York and New Jersey about the quality of The New York Post. I’ve been reading the paper since the early 1970s, before it tanked.

Call it crap, fodder, entertainment, a joke. But people still buy the rag sheet and it gets published every day.   

Another Day at Work

So what’s an editor to do when a freelance photographer comes back to the newsroom after snapping a picture of a man who was pushed onto subway tracks by a stranger? As the victim tries frantically to climb off the tracks, the train is barreling towards him.

Click. Click. Click. 

The photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, has to decide in a split second: Try and help this desperate human being or do my job. 

His choice made the front page of the paper on December 4th. (Photo via). And the decisions of both Abbasi and his editor have been blasted by many.  

Front Page News

How could another human being watch this horrific chain of events unfold and not try and help?

The man on the tracks who was killed, 58-year-old Ki-Suck Han, was someone’s father, husband, and co-worker.

Was his life worth something more than a cover story? Who are we to judge? 

Opinions from trained photojournalists, editors, and media consultants have been mixed. 

Verena Dobnik, a reporter for the Associated Press writes:   

“The moral issue among professional photojournalists in such situations is ‘to document or to assist,’ said Kenny Irby, an expert in  the  ethics of visual journalism at the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based nonprofit journalism school.

He said that’s the choice professional photographers often face in the seconds before a fatality.”

 Dobnik’s story continues:

“Another professional reluctant to reach conclusions was veteran photographer John Long of the National Press Photographers Association, where he is chairman of the ethics committee.

“I cannot judge the man,” he said. “I don’t know how far away he was; I don’t know if he could’ve done anything.”

However, both Long and Irby said that as a photographer, ‘you are morally obliged to help’ — if possible, rather than take a picture.”

The People’s Court

Social media has been buzzing with comments and opinions from the public.

On Facebook, Scott Freeman of Newtown, PA, posted:  ”I hope the editor of the NY Post burns in hell. Publishing a front page picture of a man left to die to sell papers is classless, cruel, and inhumane. What happened to humanity?”

For the record, there’s been no comment from the editors at the Post. 

Did the rag sheet go too far this time?  

(From my personal archives)

Filed Under: Journalism, media, News, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

11 news and PR memories from 9/11

by at 12:03 pm 2 Comments

On September 11, 2001, my PR company had just marked its first anniversary. 

I had been working on client accounts from my home office in central New Jersey, just 45 minutes from the World Trade Center. 

The Towers were amazing; I had worked in Tower No. 2 after graduating from college.  

And then the unthinkable. 

These are 11 news and PR-related events that happened on or after that clear, sunny morning that I reflect on today:  

1.  TV and radio broadcast antennae on top of the towers knocked major NY/NJ stations off the air. People were asking what happened to the damn Emergency Broadcast System warnings. 

2. One of my clients was scheduled to host their annual networking party on the rooftop of the Hyatt Hotel in New Brunswick. Close to 1,000 people were expected that night. The organizer called me at 11 a.m. wondering if we should postpone the party until the following evening. My thought: There’s no way in hell I’ll be on any rooftop tonight. As we began to grasp the enormity of the events, the networking party was rescheduled for October. 

3. Another client, a commuter ferry service that runs between the Jersey Shore and New York City, had several boats in the water when the planes hit. They were among the first on the scene to bring people out of lower Manhattan to NJ. Later that day, the ferries were transporting volunteers and emergency responders from New Jersey to New York.  They also brought medical supplies, water, food, and other items that businesses had donated. 

4. Novice PR reps were trying to call news outlets in the tristate area to pitch stories. Any clues this was not a routine day and the phone lines would be better served with emergency calls?

5. When the WTC towers fell, a WCBS radio news reporter covering the carnage at Ground Zero was running down the street with her tape recorder. She was unsure if she was working a story or trying to save her own life. In the pandemonium, she was thrown under a parked car and briefly lost consciousness. When she came to, she remembers clutching her black, Marantz tape recorder. 

6. For days and weeks after 9/11, the only pitches and stories reporters listened to had to be related to the terrorist attacks. There was no other news. Period.

7. I was doing PR for a local United Way chapter. Months after the attacks, one of the most difficult stories that transpired was that of experienced social workers, therapists, and religious leaders who were so emotionally consumed with counseling and supporting survivors and their families, that they too, needed professional help. But who could they turn to? No one had been trained for this.  

8. When I picked up my kids at their elementary school on 9/11, they were puzzled because they didn’t have any doctor appointments or advance notice that we had to go somewhere. At the time, they didn’t know that I simply needed them home with me. They watched goofy videos for most of the day. When they wanted to switch to the TV, I panicked. No mother wants her children to see this.  

9. When the cell phone lines allowed, my husband Andrew was able to randomly call me. His office in midtown Manhattan had been evacuated, and because he worked in IT and disaster recovery, offsite backups were the priority. After the tech part was complete, Andrew went to donate blood. He was shell-shocked after watching the planes fly into the World Trade Center. When he arrived at a midtown hospital to give blood, a TV reporter told him there were no injured people inside. No need for blood donations. There weren’t any survivors being brought in to the triage. Andrew finally got home from the City at 10 p.m.

10. The night of 9/11, one of my neighbors was standing on his front porch smoking a cigarette. He had worked at the World Trade Center and had gone downstairs for a smoke. He was interviewed by the media who reported how a cigarette saved a man’s life. 

11. A guy I knew from high school and later reconnected with in our new community of East Brunswick, worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. He was killed on 9/11. Two of his three children went to school with my kids. His wife would go on to be one of the four “Jersey Girls” who demanded that government officials in Washington, D.C. investigate how the terrorist attacks may have been prevented. 

On September 11, 2001, so many reporters and news professionals I had worked with and knew were covering chaos.  There was no Twitter or citizen journalism.

Today, we remember the innocent people who were killed on 9/11.  

Their faces and lives are the stories. Never forget.

Filed Under: Journalism, media, News, PR, Public Relations Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

3 reasons mentor relationships don’t have to be formal

by at 3:09 am Leave a Comment

When you show people that you want to learn, they’re happy to jump in and help. It doesn’t matter if you’re an intern or seasoned entrepreneur.  People who are motivated —and demonstrate their determination — don’t need ‘official’ mentors.

The lessons are often learned in places that don’t resemble classrooms or conference rooms.  

Many of us have been in roles as both mentees and mentors.  This post is written for the givers and the receivers.

The Easy-Breezy Plan

Just before my college graduation, my favorite broadcasting instructor introduced me to his radio buddy, John, who was also from New Jersey. John worked on-the-air at some of the biggest stations in Manhattan. 

My plan: Return home to New Jersey and find whatever job I could at any radio station that would give me my first break. Not so easy breezy because I’m in one of the major media markets in the U.S. (New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia). Cut-throat is being polite.

Every few months, John and I would meet at Tiffany’s Ribs, a restaurant and bar on Route 22 in Union County. John imparted his best advice and guidance to me at the bar at Tiffany’s. We kept in touch for many years; he even came to my wedding. As a result of this learning experience, whenever I have had the opportunity to mentor someone, I’ve jumped at the chance to help. 

Yes, we’re in a competitive and weak job market. But the media industry has long been fiercely competitive.   

Regardless of the field you work in — or want to work in — lessons and sage advice come in a variety of forms. Consider these three points about mentoring:  

1.       Forget the formalities.  Hours after the movie theater massacre in Aurora, CO, I read a column written by sportswriter Adrian Dater of The Denver Post. It was about Jessica Ghawi (pen name @JessicaRedfield), an intern who had ironically moved to Denver from San Antonio, where I now live. Twenty-four-year-old Jessica was among those killed at the movie theater.  Dater’s words about Jessica’s drive and determination to succeed in sports journalism struck a chord with me. He wrote:

“I got to know her and gave her advice about the business. I guess I kind of took her under my wing a little. For one thing, us gingers stick together, and she looked a lot like my kid sister. I knew that she was very ambitious and wanted to advance along into the world of sports journalism, and I always like seeing young people like that. It’s a great way to relieve one’s own youth, remembering how I was the same way once.”

2.      Pay close attention to the stories. Dater and Jessica’s mentoring, similar to my relationship with John, didn’t take place in a conference room or at a company trade show. The lessons are taught by sharing sage advice about successes and failures. Dater explained:

“I suggested we meet at one of my favorite hangouts – the 1Up arcade right down by Coors Field. There, we talked for probably a couple of hours, mostly me either talking about the business and giving advice, telling stories of my getting into it, things like that.”

 3.      Sit at the table with the players. Jessica was an intern covering the Colorado Avalanche hockey team. The lesson from Dater’s follow-up column the next day touched on breaking your butt to get a seat at the table (or in this case, the coveted press box).  Jessica worked super hard and the powers-that-be acknowledged her steadfast determination. According to Dater’s July 21st column:  

“I’m posting this photo with permission from the guy who took it, David Puchovsky, who writes an Avalanche blog from Europe…She [Jessica]was in the press box with a real credential – not at all easy to get with the Avalanche. It’s a credit to her professionalism and bonafides that she is seen here in the press box for a Dec. 19, 2011 game against the Philadelphia Flyers, with legendary hockey players such as Hall of Famer Michel Goulet sitting two seats to her right…She got there, but her time in it was all too brief.”

It’s tragic that we lost 12 innocent people on that fateful night, including an aspiring journalist who had the guts to follow her dream.

Filed Under: Journalism, media, Mentor, News, Student journalists Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

3 reasons real PR pros won’t be pitching news stories today

by at 4:52 am 2 Comments

All eyes are on Washington, D.C.  today, and the media will be running around in circles. More so than usual.

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court rules on President Obama’s controversial healthcare reform. And Attorney General Eric Holder could be held in contempt of Congress. Both issues have politicians crossing party lines. Emotions and accusations are flying.

Then factor in the Colorado fires and Tropical Storm Debby. Oh, and Ann Curry is reportedly leaving her post at NBC today. To boot, Robbie from “My Three Sons”  has died. And it’s only Thursday.

Any PR rep worth their salt knows that unless they can clearly connect their client to any of these big stories (minus Robbie), with a NEW and fresh angle that’s not self-serving, they must step aside.

Don’t even bother trying to get someone’s attention in a newsroom. Why? 

  1. Your reputation will be shot to hell and reporters will remember you for a long, long time. And not in a good way. Pitching a routine story that’s not linked to any of the breaking news we expect today makes you more than a newsroom pest.
  2.  Most reporters routinely consider PR people “interruptions” as they try to get their work done and meet deadlines.  When pitching a self-serving story that fails to connect with today’s bigger picture, you are cementing the fact that you’re clueless about newsroom culture and the unpredictable cycles of breaking and developing news.
  3.  There are live and taped feeds, freshening up new details, video, sound bites, press conferences, rumors and major deadlines. Stand clear and allow the reporters to deal with the dog-and-pony shows on Capitol Hill.

And who knows what else can happen in the midst of the healthcare ruling and the horrific fires? A crazed shooter in a shopping mall, a plane crash, a deranged kidnapping. Greece wins the lottery? Maybe even a nice story will surface.

Allow the dust to settle, reactions to come in, and post-interviews to be conducted. Your turn will come.

In the aftermath, you may discover one of your clients does indeed have a direct link to a new development and would be a strong source for a follow-up. The fall-out from these stories will linger for many days and months to come.  This is your time to get creative. Watch closely and know when to act.

For today, do some research, write a blog post, close a sale, network, and clean up outdated computer files.

Translation: This can save your esteemed reputation.

Try explaining that to a client…

Filed Under: Journalism, media, News, Public Relations Tagged With: , , , , , ,

12 pioneering people who changed the news and media

by at 8:55 pm 6 Comments

Influence, vision, power, and a bit of ego have driven most of these individuals to make their mark in the news and media. Many fought and endured hardships and battles that are unimaginable. Others were born into wealthy families and went on to build media empires that date back to the 1800s. They were rebellious, brave, and smart.

You may not recognize all the names that follow. You may wonder why Steve Jobs, Merv Griffin, Thomas Edison, Howard Stern, and Oprah Winfrey are not included. When I began compiling the list, I wanted to balance new and old, familiar and unfamiliar. I learned a lot from writing this. You may find it a bit eclectic. I’m feeling like Part 2 may be stirring.

For now, here are 12 pioneering people who changed the news and media:

1. Nellie Bly

In the early 1900s, Nellie (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran) refused to follow the rules that women at the Pittsburgh Dispatch newspaper only write about gardening and tea parties. Her fiery rebuttal to a sexist column written by her editor gained attention. Bly broke into investigative reporting that would become her lasting legacy. In 1887, she took an undercover assignment for the New York World newspaper. Faking insanity, she spent 10 days as a patient in the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island in New York. Her exposés of brutality and neglect have changed the way people with mental illnesses are treated. In 1998 — 76 years after her death — Nellie Bly was inducted into the national Women’s Hall of Fame.

2. Barbara Walters

In 1976, Walters breaks ground as the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news program on ABC. She endured blatant sex discrimination on and off-camera that was dished out by her co-anchor Harry Reasoner. The Emmy-award-winning Walters, now 83, was on the Today Show for 11 years, hosted annual pre-Oscar interview specials that yielded top ratings, and has interviewed world leaders from every corner of the world. Walters also developed and co-hosted daytime talk show hit, The View.

3. Edward R. Murrow

Years after his passing, Murrow continues to be a role model for broadcast journalists. At the onset of World War II, his broadcasts from London gained him instant recognition from both his peers and the public. PBS.com maintains Murrow’s “courage and perseverance in search of truth” changed history.

4. Arianna Huffington

Many consider her our modern day digital media mogul. In 2005, Huffington and several business partners launched the Huffington Post. “The queen of new media” has managed to assemble thousands of bloggers who write for free, along with several notables, including President Barak Obama, to contribute to this groundbreaking online newspaper/content aggregator. In 2011, Forbes names Huffington to its list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.”

5. Ted Turner

His vision brought us the world’s first 24-hour TV news network, CNN. The 73-year-old media mogul’s empire has been somewhat of a double-edged sword for Turner, and all of us. People are voicing disgust with around-the-clock talking heads that repeat horrible news and bombard the public with biased reporting. But there is a lighter side: Turner also brought us the Cartoon Network and an all movie channel.

6. Benjamin Franklin

It wasn’t just about the kite and the Constitution. Circa 1730, Franklin authors and publishes the first political cartoon. In his teenage and young adult years, Franklin had worked as an apprentice printer. He and his brother launched Boston’s first newspaper, The New England Courant. One of many highlights: In 1733, Franklin published Poor Richards Almanack.

7. William Randolph Hearst

Talk about an edgy risk-taker. Hearst (1863-1951) was born to a wealthy family in California, and after being expelled from Harvard, took control of his father’s newspaper, The San Francisco Examiner. Hearst soon moved his base to New York City and began a cut-throat battle with rival publisher Joseph Pulitzer. The two pioneered sensationalized journalism featuring scandals, sex, sports, and human interest stories. Writer Arthur James Pegler said: “A Hearst newspaper is like a screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut.” Hearst balanced this drama with hard investigative reporting. He also hired writers Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, and Jack London. NotableBiographies.com contends Hearst owned “one of the most extensive journalistic empire ever assembled by one man. His personality and use of wealth permanently left a mark on American media.”

8. Phil Donohue

He bounced around the studio with his silver hair flopping in his eyes and a microphone in his hand. “Caller, are you there?” was his trademark phrase. Donohue brought his message to women during the soap opera hours. His topics and guests on daytime television encouraged women to leave the laundry room and pursue their own interests and careers; to participate and be more vocal in our society. Oprah Winfrey wrote: “In 1969, his show debuted nationally, and the whole country came to know his personal brand of issue-driven straight talk.”

9. Johannes Gutenberg

His name may not ring a bell but he’s made quite a contribution. This German entrepreneur, who lived in the 15th century, developed “a printing press process that, with refinements and increased mechanization, remained the principal means of printing until the late 20th century,” according to Ideafinder.com. “The inventor’s method of printing from movable type, including the use of metal molds and alloys, a special press, and oil-based inks, allowed for the first time the mass production of printed books.” This included the Bible.

10. Janis Krums

This man has changed the way news is reported — and propelled Twitter to the front line of breaking news. Krums snapped the “Miracle on the Hudson” picture of a U.S. Airways plane sitting in the Hudson River on a frigid January day. Who can forget hero pilot “Captain Sulley” and the 155 passengers who were rescued? Krums was on a ferry when the plane crashed. He said others on the boat were taking pictures with their cell phones, so he took a few, too. But it was Krums who knew how to use his technology and tweet the picture. His 300 followers helped it go viral, and citizen journalism was taken to a new level.

11. Tim Russert

Simplify, simplify, simplify. That was the magic Russert brought to news and politics. He had the uncanny ability and political know-how to distill complex issues for the layman. Russert was the proud son of a garbage man from upstate New York. He worked as a political aide to several notables, including U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Russert’s political insights brought him to news and he would eventually become moderator of Sunday’s long-running and prestigious Meet the Press. He hosted the show on NBC from 1991 until his death in 2008.

12. Rupert Murdoch

The elderly news publisher is making his own headlines, and it ain’t pretty. The 93-year-old billionaire and head of Murdoch News Corporation is facing allegations of a phone hacking and bribery scandal that is rocking his empire and reputation. But let’s step back. Murdoch’s father was a newspaper publisher. According to Biography.com, the Murdoch News Corporation currently “controls a significant share of virtually all forms of media across the globe. He owns many of the books and newspapers people read, the television shows and films they watch, the radio stations they listen to, the websites they visit, and the blogs and social networks they create.”

Do you have a favorite from this list? Mine is Nellie Bly. What’s the most interesting tidbit you learned?

 

Filed Under: Journalism, media, News, Writing Tagged With: , , , ,

5 hard lessons for student journalists at Penn State

by at 8:11 pm 1 Comment

Aspiring writers for The Daily Collegian, the 125-year-old student-run newspaper at Penn State University, have gotten real-life lessons in journalism that professors could have never come up with. And they wouldn’t want to.

The sex abuse convictions of former defensive football coach Jerry Sandusky have turned the school upside down, on so many different levels.

To learn what student journalists have been dealing with these last eight months, I interviewed Casey McDermott, editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian. McDermott and her team provided a combination of online and print coverage from Day 1. 

“It’s definitely been a challenge. We were asked to mature a lot this year. I was astonished at how professionally our staff of 18-to-22-year-olds handled this. Everyone just rose to the occasion and did what we had to do. All hands on deck in November; no questions asked.”  

There were the alleged cover-ups and firings of esteemed football Coach Joe Paterno and University President Graham Spanier.  There were the abrupt resignations and criminal charges filed against Athletic Director Tim Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz. There were violent student and community protests. There were police investigations, FBI search warrants, and the trial.

But above all, there were the victims. The boys and young men, who, for years, endured — and kept secret — the horrific and repugnant actions of a pathetic and sick man who stole their innocence.

Toss out the textbooks. This is not a syllabus for Journalism 303.    

Many seasoned reporters who have covered breaking news and criminal court cases have never had the experience of seeing such a high profile, shocking, and emotionally-charged case firsthand. McDermott says the staff has always covered local criminal cases, but nothing of this magnitude. Fair to say, the student journalists have done more than cut their teeth.

Consider these five lessons the students at The Daily Collegian have learned:    

  1. Breaking news and wordsmithing. In early November, 2011, student journalists watch wide-eyed as local and national media converge on their beloved ‘Happy Valley’ campus. Reporters, along with bloggers and the public, want details on Sandusky’s arrest.  At a tumultuous press conference, there is shock that Paterno and Spanier had been fired. The Board of Trustees is bombarded with questions of ‘who knew what and when they knew it?’ The verbal dance is underway. Student journalists quickly discover the frustration in trying to get information during an active criminal investigation. They see that when attorneys and law enforcement are involved, the wordsmithing can be painfully frustrating. Wanna-be journalists come to understand the magnitude of the word ‘alleged.’ The old adage, ‘Read between the lines’ is a lesson unto itself.
  2. Writing a balanced and fair news story ain’t so easy. Especially when YOU are the news. The emotions and news judgment of student journalists are put to the test. They discover the importance of keeping opinions on the editorial page and out of a news story. This is significant for these student journalists, as they have only lived with sensationalized and biased news and talk show anchors; blowhards masquerading as reporters. 
  3. Thinking about power. Collegiate reporters quickly learn how ugly power and ego can be, especially when it’s tied to the country’s top university football program and coach. Hearing firsthand how respected leaders have turned their collective backs (for years) as young boys were being violated is a lesson that goes beyond scholarships and trophies. The definition of integrity is examined.
  4. Watching the interviews. As vile details of the case are revealed, student reporters get a glimpse of crisis communications and media coaching. Remember the interview Jerry Sandusky did with NBC’s Bob Costas just days after his arrest?  Sandusky said, “I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their legs without intent of sexual contact.” That’s a really bad sound bite, Jerry.
  5. Acting like a professional. Defense attorney Joe Amendola’s strategy and comments to the media have been described by one analyst as “unorthodox.” When telling a reporter about the “soap opera drama” in court, Amendola quipped, “This could be ‘All My Children.’” Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Linda Kelly spoke to the press (with prepared remarks) immediately after the verdict was delivered. Kelly talked about the courageous testimony from victims and the need for the public to protect children. Both Amendola and Kelly graduated from law school. The aspiring journalists learn that tact and class aren’t part of the bar exam. 

Will professors in the communications department rewrite course outlines using their own story as a case study? Will administrators in ‘Happy Valley’ allow it? 

And will any of the student journalists at The Daily Collegian who followed and covered this story pursue professional journalism careers? Or will they leave the Valley and head for the hills?

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Filed Under: Crisis Communication, Journalism, Leadership, media, News, publicity, Student journalists Tagged With: , , , , , ,