The Indianapolis Business Journal offers a section every few weeks of political commentary, named Forefront. It features a number of opinions from several points of view.
In the January 17 edition of Forefront, two commentaries, on the same page, caught my eye. Both are about the news media.
The first is from Jim Shella, retired Statehouse reporter for WISH-TV and once host of Public Broadcasting’s local weekly talk fest, Indiana Week In Review. Shella recounts a story he worked on as a young Iowa TV reporter. He used a hidden camera to show local body shops willing to allegedly perform insurance fraud.
He nearly did not get the series of stories on the air because the station manager was very worried about lawsuits. Shella also writes about ABC News settling a lawsuit recently it almost would surely have won in court.
His point is that sometimes news organizations can be cowed by just the possibility of legal action, and in the case of ABC News likely settled because the attorney’s fees would have cost so much.
The other piece is written by Jennifer Wagner Chartier, owner of a local PR firm. She tells a story of being in New Orleans when the terror attack happened on Bourbon Street. She compared and contrasted the coverage by national and local New Orleans news outlets.
She described national news coverage as showing video of Bourbon Street right after the attack as a constant loop, and featured interviews with experts on terrorism, radicalization, law enforcement and public safety.
The coverage from the local television news was quite different, based on her experience. They featured interviews with local officials, passersby and residents in the area to celebrate New Year’s and the Sugar Bowl.
Her point is this – there is no substitute for local, in-person news reporting. It is the lifeblood of a news organization and any local community. Without that local news, the community suffers.
There are two important points here. First, news organizations must be willing to report the tough stories. If you are correct and accurate, there will be no legal repercussions. Be responsible, but do not shy away from important news people need to know.
Second, there is no substitute for good reporting by good reporters familiar with the local community. Wagner Chartier saw that first-hand in New Orleans, but you could see that contrast in just about any local operation doing its job in journalism.
Support local news operations. They need your support. If you do not, we lose the independent journalism every local area of this nation needs and deserves.