A few observations for my journalist friends...
- No one single-handedly does anything
- Not every criticism is "scathing"
- Continually re-reporting how an incident was originally reported/perceived and not the eventually established facts is miss-reporting
- Connecting issues that seem related is sometimes clever pattern matching - sometimes it's just conflating things that have nothing to do with each other.
- Skepticism is healthy, but be careful of being snarky or dismissive when hearing countervailing information. Related: Under-reporting legitimate countervailing information or always presenting it as a weak and untrustworthy rebuttal to the established narrative is miss-reporting
- Everyone is biased. Word choice, focus and headline reveal bias. At least be aware of your bias and how words matter. E.g Regime vs Government. Rebels vs Insurgents, Investigation vs Independent Review, Loses vs invests.
- (Most important) Your headline is often the only thing people will read. Letting your editor write it and/or not ensuring its representative of the whole story is miss-reporting
- Please, please call out your colleagues who are not living up to your standards and/or engaging in tabloid news
I've also been guilty of much of this when I've acted as an observer of news and "reported" what I've seen on social media etc.
Independent, investigative journalism is more important than ever before. I don't envy your position.
