Capturing the News Flashcards
Ethical Issues Faced
Censorship and Propaganda
Danger and Physical Barriers
Emotional Trauma
Speed vs Accuracy
Biases
Access to Information
Obstacles to truth and how to overcome them
Cliches - shortcuts
Institutional - state governments, time, resources, lack of information
Emotions
CNN disorganized
Chicken Noodle News
Asking Collings to be an anchor when another was late
Firewall between news and business side
Gossip in journalism
Journalists have commercial interests to consider
Space between editorial and business side of journalism
Business drives how and what should be reported
If business is dictating what is reported and how then it presents a conflict of interest
How was the firewall violated?
Goodwill Games in Moscow 1986
Sponsored by Ted Turner and the Soviet government for a boxing match
Turner’s motives: gaining publicity, money and world peace
Low public interest
Pentagon banned U.S. participation
While covering the defiance of the two boxers Collings was asked by a producer to include a comment from Reagan a few months prior
“”It was good for the U.S. and the Soviet Union to compete in sports”
“SHE WAS FIGHTING TO THE DEATH”
Washington Post 2003, Private Jessica Lynch
Claimed to despite having been captured by Iraqis and wounded she kept firing her weapon and shot several enemy soldiers
Turns out she was never injured and she did not fight to the death
Attributed “fighting to the death” quotes to a US official
Played up sensationalism instead of uncertainty about what happened
False reporting of foreign terrorism as cause of Oklahoma City bombing
The day the bombing happened FBI press officer said it could be terrorism
Former government employees said the event had all the earmarks of Middle Eastern terrorism
Abrahim Ahmad, a Jordanian flying to Jordan to visit relatives was detained by FBI in Chicago for matching the description
His luggage stopped in Rome and was opened and he was detained again for questioning and sent to Dulles Airport
The FBI deemed him a possible witness which thad the subtext of being a possible Arab terrorist
Steve Stockman, Texas representative received a fax saying supposedly from an hour before the bombing
Mentioned Wolverine tying the bombing to Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols
Collings was hesitant to mention the fax in his report because it had not been confirmed until a producer reached to someone in the FBI who confirmed the fax
Someone listening to initial news report in Oklahoma took notes and faxed them to Stockman
The fax was not relevant to the case
