Who cares if it’s true? We do

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    It may come as a surprise to some readers, but journalists are human, too.
    We’re not born with writing, photography and layout skills. We have to learn these traits over time. So when we make a mistake, we need to own up to it.
    Fortunately, I’ve only made a few errors that wound up in print since I’ve been with the Piscataquis Observer.

    A few weeks ago a selectman gently chastised me for misstating a motion that was passed at a board meeting. I wrote that the board favored buying a new fire truck. Actually, they didn’t. They only voted to place an article for the purchase on the annual town meeting warrant.
    As it turned out, it was a moot point because voters overwhelmingly passed the article in question. But I did admit that I screwed up.
    I also forgot to add the name of a new member of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors’ to a feature I did a few weeks ago. I had the email on my home PC, but neglected to write it down or forward it to the office.
    I’m mentioning these minor misdeeds because I notice a disturbing trend in media nowadays that emphasizes speed at the expense of accuracy.
    This month’s Columbia Journalism Review cover story is “Who cares if it’s true?” which, to old mossbacks like me, is a disturbing concept.
    I’ve worked in competitive markets for larger papers. One editor would start his day off by reading three dailies, then immediately emailing reporters in the outlying bureaus asking “Why don’t we have this story?”
    Some of my replies included “Nobody outside of (name of town) cares about it” or “Their reporter lives two houses away from the first selectman.”
    But I always stuck with one principle: I’d rather be right than first.
    Today’s frenzied social media landscape is filled with amateur reporters, but no editors. Anyone with a smartphone can film an arrest and post it on Facebook or YouTube. But only an editor can scrutinize the video and question the context and circumstances.
    In the CJR article, one web-based media editor admitted, “The YouTube generation understands that stories evolve. It’s dirty and it’s not always right, but it’s instantaneous.”
    That’s for sure. Ask the “wrong” Ivan Lopez about the media feeding frenzy he endured because he had the misfortune of having the same name as the Fort Hood shooter.
    Then there was the misidentified Boston Marathon bomber and U.S. Navy Yard gunman last year alone.
    There’s nothing wrong with social media if it’s used with some restraint. I’m on Facebook every day, mostly to keep up with my family and friends’ activities.
    But when it comes to news, I’ll stick with the traditional methods – check it out before it goes to print or online.
    Mistakes can be made. But the fewer, the better.
    By the way, Johanna Greenfield is the chamber director whose name I left off the list.
Mike Lange is a staff writer with the Piscataquis Observer. His opinions are his own and don’t necessarily reflect those of this newspaper.