Columbia Journalism Review January-February 1993: Vol 31 Iss 5

73 Pages·24.3 MB·English

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1993 @ $3.50
TV JUMPS
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Flying close to the news
Who’s looking at your phone
records?
1942: the invisible evacuees
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1993
Did AIPAC get an editor
fired?
“TO ASSESS
THE PERFORMANCE San Francisco’s homeless
OF JOURNALISM... reporter
TO HELP STIMULATE
CONTINUING Resources: Got a question?
IMPROVEMENT IN
THE PROFESSION, , Follow-up: the killings in
AND TO SPEAK OUT Turkey
FOR WHAT IS
© DOCUMENT 22
RIGHT, FAIR,
AND DECENT” A Sign of the
m the founding editorial
196] BDARVIIASN Times
Crime as “reality-based” entertainment, page 25
© CAMPAIGN ’92 45
Covering the Cops
Degrees of Sleaze
A TV show moves in where journalists fear to tread
BY VICTOR NAVASKY
BY JON KATZ
Covering the Crimes @ ON THEJ OB 51
The Rise of the
What a steady diet of death and depravity can do
to a reporter Super-interns
BY MARK PINSKY BY KIM NAUER
The Mozote Massacre @ supementcaaL «= 533
It was the reporters’ word against the government’s — When Scoop
and the reporters paid a price. Recently, new evidence Meets Sting
has come to light
BY DARY MATERA
BY MIKE HOYT
“Official Sources,” ““Western Diplomats,” © OPINION 55
and Other Voices from the Mission Is Alma Mater a
Sacred Cow?
BY FRANK SMYTH
BY STEVE WEINBERG
Al Gore’s Other Big Week
© TECHNOLOGY 56
Back in 1974, two stories by a young investigative
reporter shook up Nashville Casting the
BY E. THOMAS WOOD Internet
BY JOE ABERNATHY
A Bad Case of the ’80s
Can a once-vital newspaper recover from the age of excess? @ BOOKS 57
BY HOWARD KURTZ Acceptable Risks
by Jonathan Kwitny
reviewed by Stuart Schear
EDITOR'S NOTE 4
@ LETTERS 6
@ DARTS AND LAURELS 23
© SHORT TAKES 62
Cover photo: @THELoweRcASE 65
BRIAN DAVIS PLTAHOROWRTEYO LSL /MAGNUM
EDITOR'S NOTE
THEY
An
NO PUNCHES
In Health in the Headlines,
the book that won the $1,000
Lowell. Mellett Award for
EAL PEOPLE AND
Improving Journalism
SRN mOu lem Oran
in 1992 for Stephen REAL JOURNALISM
Klaidman, the author shows
the need for journalists to
talk to a broad range of BY SUZANNE BRAUN LEVINE
sources rather.than relying
too much on traditional
establishment or Most journalists I know spent a good dered response, even after he under-
OOM eA ULE part of 92 caught up in the unexpected stood she meant “recession,” gave a bet-
drama of the presidential campaign and ter sense of the moment and the man —
OMe terror especially bemused by the ways our his “character” — than all the “gotcha”
Armstrong, John V. R. Bull, profession became an issue in it. The questions posed by reporters throughout
and Richard Harwood—also emergence of “real people” and “talk” the campaign.
gave Mellett special citations in the information-gathering process The “gotcha” questions made no one
for analysis of news media was a source of particular concern, and happy. The blatant hostility of this
performance to Mel we will be trying to learn from the approach ill serves the higher objectives
experience for a good time to come. of investigative reporting, which these
Friedman for his article,
A starting point is offered by the days certainly doesn’t need more detrac-
as Co MSL (ele
findings of a cJR/Roper public opinion tors. The sputtering economy, with the
Proliferation,” in Deadline;
poll conducted just before the election. resultant staff cutbacks, has helped to
and to Ellen Hume and the
Two thousand voters were asked which make investigative journalism an endan-
Barone Center on the Press,
they preferred — questions put to the gered genre — in the print press but per-
Politics and Public Policy at candidates by ordinary citizens or those haps especially in television.
Harvard for the report, asked by journalists. Most (40 percent) One other reason put forward to
“Campaign Lessons for 92.” preferred those put by nonjournalists, explain a loss of heart among once-
SUIT U Cem em aioe explaining that they posed the questions aggressive reporters and editors is the
our respondents wanted answers to. A chilling effect of a spate of libel suits
METRO CeC L
smaller group (20 percent) preferred and other judicial challenges that have
MOE eK ely eee ie questions asked by reporters because made it increasingly expensive and
BY they were “harder to dodge.” (The rest time-consuming to defend investigative
Om o Mm LCOeUE ee
expressed no preference.) work. In the months to come, CJR will be
ee Ca
Ideally, journalists want to satisfy paying special attention to this problem;
both groups; the first, by reflecting back we will monitor relevant decisions and
Mellett to them the feel of being there, chatting assess the degree to which each threat-
with the subject, asking and re-asking ens press freedoms. Beyond that, we
Award the fundamental questions readers and will do all we can to provide moral sup-
viewers would ask; the second, by port by seeking out and encouraging the
School of Communications aggressively going after the facts, ask- best investigative work being done and
_—The Pennsylvania State University ing tough questions, putting the story identifying and challenging the forces
201 Carnegie Building together, interpreting, analyzing, and that threaten to inhibit such efforts.
University Park, PA 16802-5101
drawing conclusions. As ’92 illuminated the twin responsi-
The two approaches are, of course, bilites of the journalistic community to
not mutually exclusive. It was an ordi- both shed light and generate heat, so
nary citizen who asked George Bush a 1993 can be a year in which we fulfill
revealing question: “How is the deficit those responsibilities in a style of civility
affecting you, personally?” His bewil- and a spirit of enterprise and resolve.
CIRJANUARY /FEBRUARY 1993
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LETTERS
PUBLISHER
JOAN KONNER
EDITOR
MYTHING OUT economic labels can be as damaging as
SUZANNE BRAUN LEVINE
SENIOR EDITOR ON THE BAY OF PIGS political ones (“Trade,” CJR, November/
JON SWAN December). But I’m irked that he lifted a
MANAGING EDITOR In his fine article on campaign coverage in sentence from a story of mine without mak-
GLORIA COOPER the November/December issue, D.D. ing it clear — as I had in the preceding para-
ART DIRECTOR Guttenplan states that The New York Times graph — that the words he attributes to me
IRA FRIEDLANDER “once sat on a story about plans for the Bay were a paraphrase of comments by Japan’s
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
MIKE HOYT of Pigs invasion.” Although that seems to No. 2 diplomat in the U.S.
have become part of journalistic folklore, it TOM BROWN
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
JAMES BOYLAN is incorrect that the Times “sat on” the Bay THE SEATTLE TIMES
D.D. GUTTENPLAN of Pigs story. The Times’s editors did soften SEATTLE, WASH.
CHRISTOPHER HANSON the lead on Tad Szulc’s story so it was not as
MICHAJEOLN MKAATSZS ING predictive about the timing of the invasion, THE HART DIFFERENCE
BRUCE PORTER and references to the CIA’s involvement
STEVE WEINBERG were removed. Amidst some turmoil within Did it really take three executives of The
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE the Times’s hierarchy, the top editors also Christian Science Monitor’s flawed televi-
MARGARET KENNEDY sion news venture to make the same point-
moved the story from the lead of the paper
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS less point about John Hart’s commentary
DENISE DeJOSEPH with a four-column head to a one-column
documenting church censorship of the pro-
SHELLY J. HANN head above the fold.
gram? (“The News for God’s Sake,” Cur,
INTERNS It was not one of the happier moments at
DANIEL EISENBERG, ROSE K. MANZO the Times, but the paper did print a story September/October). All three letters make
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER about the imminent invasion of Cuba by the same ludicrous suggestion that Hart, a
DENNIS F. GIZA talented, experienced journalist, lacks char-
anti-Castro forces. But that was thirty years
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR acter because he kept notes recording both
LOUISA D. KEARNEY ago, and myths seem to grow as facts
direct and subtle attempts to “tone” the news
LEADERSHIP NETWORK become obscure.
KIKI PARIS JOHN W. FINNEY program to comport with church theology.
© WASHINGTON, D.C. Journalists take notes to make sure they
get it right — and to refute those who say
FOUNDING PUBLISHER
EDWARD W. BARRETT PHOTO FINISH they got it wrong. Unethical? Immoral? No.
FACULTY CONSULTANTS Just common sense. These three vague,
BARBARA BELFORD, Your November/December issue may well vapid letters do not challenge a specific
OSBORN ELLIOTT, PHYLLIS T. GARLAND, be the best I have read in the eight or ten aspect of Hart’s well-documented record of
KENNETH K. GOLDSTEIN
STEPHEN D. ISAACS, DONALD R. SHANOR years I have been a regular reader. For back- the efforts to censor the news.
SUSTAINING GRANTS ground, I am a Republican and Vietnam vet- For many years non-church members
THE BAUMAN FOUNDATION eran. I would like to comment on a point not who were faithful readers of The Christian
CABOT FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST made in your “Report Card on the Press.” Science Monitor understood that some sto-
THE AARON DIAMOND FOUNDATION One method the press has of tilting toward ries on some subjects — disease, illness,
MEREDITH CORPORATION one candidate or another is its selection of
THE SAUL AND JANICE POLIAK photographs, display, etc. My impression is Columbia Journalism Review (ISSN 0010 - 194X) is
OF CFEIRNSTTE RA MFEONRD MTHEEN TS TUIDSYS UES that, during the campaign, Clinton usually paluubmlniis,h eadn d bifmroienntdhsl yo f utnhde erG ratdhuea taeu spSichcoeosl ooff tJhoeu rnfaacluilstmy,,
THE FLORENCE AND JOHN SCHUMANN received a bigger photograph, with a more Columbia University. Volume XXXI, Number 5
FOUNDATION sympathetic caption, and was shown smiling January/February 1993. Copyright © 1993 Graduate
. among enthusiastic well-wishers. Bush, on School of Journalism, Columbia University. Subscription
rates: one year $19.95; two years $34.95; three years
COLUMBIA the other hand, at times looked as if he were $47.95. Canadian and foreign subscriptions, add $4 per
suffering from a migraine headache. The pre- year. Back issues: $5.50. Please address all subcription
JOURNALISM mail to: Columbia Journalism Review, Subscription Service
sentation of candidates in such a way can
Department, P.O. Box 1943, Marion, Ohio 43302; (800)
REVIEW have a substantial impact over a period of 669-1002. Editorial office: 700 Journalism Building,
weeks leading up to an election. Columbia University, New York, N.Y. 10027; (212) 854-
700 JOURNALISM BUILDING JAMES E. McERLANE 1881. Business office: 700A Journalism Building, Columbia
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I have no quarrel with John Judis’s view that Journalism Review, P.O. Box 1943, Marion, Ohio 43302.
CIRJANUARY/FEBRUARY 1993
medicine, and treatment, for example —
were “toned” to make them compatible with
the theology of the church. Monitor staff
members candidly acknowledged it. There GORE-TEX® brand fabric
was no pretense that non-church members
from W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
would get adequate news in the area of
health care reporting that was at odds with the only manufacturer of
church belief.
the original waterproof, breathable fabric
Non-church members read this marvelous
paper for everything else in it — and found
it well worth the price. But we watched the
television program because of Hart’s reputa-
tion, not because of the church.
John Hart’s reputation is alive and well. ORE
What is alive but unwell — as a result of the
church’s decision to pump millions into the
failed and censored television news program
— is a once-vital newspaper. I hope the
church elders won’t think it sacrilegious to
suggest that it needs a transfusion of funds Creative Technologies
— the lifeblood of publishing. Worldwide
JOHN SEIGENTHALER
CHAIRMAN
FIRST AMENDMENT CENTER
NASHVILLE, TENN.
RESOUNDING FURY GORE-TEX® is a registered trademark
of W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
I know it almost always looks like sour grapes
for an author to respond to a review, and some
people have even told me that they thought
Piers Brendon’s assessment of my book (CJR,
November/December) was generally favor-
able. But I didn’t. I appreciated the generous
adjectives Brendon employed, but found his
overall objections to my argument small-
Aviation Journalism Awards
minded and misrepresentative. Here’s why:
@ Brendon’s largest problem with Sound
and Fury: The Washington Punditocracy
and the Collapse of American Politics seems
to be that I didn’t read his book, The Life
and Death of the Press Barons, before I The 1993 Max Karant Journalism
wrote it. William Randolph Hearst’s high- ATEN CRT Meshes a clter atte Information and
est-paid journalist, Arthur Brisbane, is “sin- and insightful coverage of general entny forme:
gularly absent from Alterman’s account”
while Joseph Pulitzer “inexplicably does not PMElar Bre ssc lms mec emer Pat Rishel
receive a mention in Sound and Fury.” and broadcast outlets. [phone]
Excuse me, Mr. Brendon, this is a book
about pundits, not press barons. Getting paid
X& $1,000 awards will be presented at Aircraft Owners
a lot of money by Hearst does not qualify
AOPA Expo '93 at Disney's Dolphin Hotel and Pilots
one as a pundit; neither does owning the
newspaper that instituted the first world- in Orlando, Florida. Association
class op-ed page.
Brendon falls back on that hoary ploy, the ROL Oe eno aA Moelle Communications
imputed conspiracy theory, to attempt to categories is August 1,1993. Judging is by Division
paint me as an irresponsible critic of con- independent panel of distinguished aviation 421 Aviation Way
temporary press mores. To do so, however, journalists. Frederick, MD 21701
he must misread me. Brendon borrows my
quote of a punditocracy working “‘hand in X& Eligible: Any work published or broad-
glove’ with the forces of charlatanism, ter- cast in 1992 through July 31, 1993, on any
rorism, and jingoism” without bothering to Poaceae maar aha Leen mae neceaseleelp
inform the reader that the sentence in ques- non-military aviation.)
tion refers directly back to a warning of
Walter Lippmann, who expressed this con-
CIRJANUARY/FEBRUARY 1993
cern in exactly these words in Liberty and to the New York Herald, when in fact it BURNING QUESTION
the News. If Brendon has a problem with appeared in the New York Enquirer.
alleged conspiracy mongering, therefore, he Since virtually all books contain such Your Dart aimed at me for what you saw as
should take it to Walter Lippmann. minor errors and most authors, this one my participating in an effort to enlist letter
@ Referring to the previous sentence, included, are genuinely appreciative to see writers in a pro-smoking campaign (CJR,
Brendon continues that such a “wild idea these pointed out so, I will simply say thank November/December) was not far off target,
{about the present press] may well reflect you to Mr. Brendon for giving me the but I did not have your advantage of having
Alterman’s failure to understand its past.” opportunity to correct it in a future edition. I seen the final product before you fired. If
This alleged failure on my part is illustrated might add, however, that I think it would that final product was as you describe it
by 1) my refusal to cite Mr. Brendon’s behoove CJR, in the future, to assign review- (“The July issue of Choice, The Journal of
beloved Joseph Pulitzer as the “apotheosis of ers who are less concerned with proving the the Smokers’ Rights Movement, published
journalistic independence” and 2) my gen- worth of their own published works. by R.J. Reynolds..., focuses on the burning
uine error in attributing a James Gordon ERIC ALTERMAN question of how to use the media to build
Bennett dispatch regarding Andrew Jackson STANFORD, CALIF. support for its cause...”], and to the extent
that one is guilty by association, I am some-
what embarrassed.
You imply that my participation was in
the full publication. It was not. I knew noth-
ing about the contents of the publication
es, CLOROX® isa beyond the fact that it was put out by R.J.
brand name. Our brand Reynolds Tobacco Co. Because we would
not let a Reynolds employee review an arti-
name—our registered
cle before its pubiication, I did not ask to see
trademark that we use for either the story or the publication. All I
agreed to do was talk about what made let-
our laundry and cleaning
ters most likely to be published and what was
products, including the most likely to prevent that from happening.
Seemed like the reasonable, courteous
quality bleach products
thing to do at the time.
we've been making for JOHN D. GATES
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
home laundry and dis-
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
infectant uses since 1916. WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
THOSE DATABASE BUCKS
When you add our bleach
product to your laundry, Donna Demac makes a good point in
you're adding CLOROX® “Database Dollars: Whose Are They?” (CJR,
September/October). News organizations
bleach. When you write draw increasing profits from the sale of
tapes, databases, etc. Journalists — employ-
a news item about the use
ees and free-lance writers alike — should try
of our bleach products, to obtain their share of the growing pie by
it’s “CLOROX® bleach.” claiming additional payment or, bolder still,
by fighting for a change of the existing
When it’s just bleach, it’s copyright laws.
Please just bleach. . .it’s not It should be kept in mind that copyright
remember “CLOROX”! law has always been meant to protect indi-
vidual authors rather than their corporate
that CLOROX®
employers. The situation described by
is our brand Demac shows that, in most cases, practice
and principle have grown far apart.
for our products—
WILLEM F. KORTHALS ALTES
laundry bleach, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
INSTITUTE FOR INFORMATION LAVV
detergents and cleansers. \&
UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM
THE NETHERLANDS
The ® says so.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The Clorox Company I was shocked to find, on opening my copy
P. O. Box 24305 of CJR last month, that The Daily Californian
had received a Dart — and only partly
Oakland, CA 94623 Ya relieved to discover that it was intended for
the El Cajon Californian, against which we
Un
CIRJANUARY/ /FEBRUARY 1993