John Eligon: The trap of news framing, unrepresentative sources, and personal blogging
John Eligon is covers the race beat for the New York Times, traveling the country and globe looking for cases of racial injustice. During his Foster- Foreman presentation, Eligon told audience members that he lets his presence contextualize the story, rather than “making the story about him,” in his opinion. He stated that there is a difference between writing with a lot of voice, and making the article opinion based. The ethical dilemma that presents itself here lies in the potential framing traps that journalists can fall into as well as not getting the entire context of a story through the use of unrepresentative sources. Brüggemann notes that frames are, “patterns of interpretation rooted in culture and articulated by the individual” (2014, p. 1). Eligon also talked about a story that he wrote for the The New York Times, and a rendition that he posted containing his own experiences at an event and his thoughts to his Facebook account. This brings up the ethical dilemma of journalist’s utilization of personal social media accounts and conflicts that may arise.
John Eligon discussed a story that he wrote about Charlottesville and the controversy over Confederate statues. For his story, he incorporated a quote from a radical white southern idealist named Gordon Cotton, whose ancestors worshipped figures like Robert E. Lee. This man said very racist, outlandish comments which were featured in Eligon’s article. He then contrasted the views of this man with those of an elderly peaceful black woman who feels that her history is being robbed of her due to the presence of confederate statues. According to Brüggemann, journalists select sources who provide quotes representing his or her personal world view (2014).
In highlighting the viewpoints of two drastically different people and presenting them as those of a particular group, Eligon is potentially strategically choosing people who confirm his opinions about specific phenomenon or those will offer the most audience appeal and excitement.
Foreman says that journalists should strive for more than accuracy, that is, correctly reporting the facts. Instead, “They should strive for a human’s best possible rendition of the truth, presenting facts in a context that fosters an understanding of the event or issue.” Truth about an entire group of people may not be attained through a conversation with one, being that their opinions could be particularly radical. Eligon said that he tries to provide the context of each interviewees thoughts, mentioning small facts about their pasts and upbringings. Upon further exploration of this ethical dilemma, journalists have a moral obligation to be fair, that is, to reject favoritism or bias, and to consider the viewpoints of the subjects in their reporting (Foreman, 2018). The problem here lies in the fact that the views of the majority are not seen as interesting or newsworthy. This creates a strange perception of reality among consumers of the media. In order to truly portray the views of the Charlottesville community, it would have been beneficial to include more sources and more moderate thinkers.
Frames are patterns of interpretation rooted in culture and articulated by the individual. Eligon’s decision to post a blog-styled rendition of his experience visiting a Neo-Nazi “family festival” in Germany after reporting on the news aspects of it for The New York Times is legal, but there is a question to whether it is ethical or not. I would argue that by placing oneself in a story, a reporter risks taking away some of the credibility associated with a hard news story. Foreman notes that the personal blogs of journalists can cause problems for their employers (2016). A journalist named Steve Olafson was even fired for expressing opinions about the people and events he covered (Foreman, 2016). While Eligon claims his writing only has a lot of voice rather than opinion, he must be careful to avoid drifting out of the news category. The problem also is that much of what we read online today is regarded as degrading the credibility of true journalism. Gorman writes, “Never have distortions been so widely distributed and opinions so readily mistaken for fact as in the age of digital communication and 24-hour news” (2018, p. 1). Mixing opinion with fact through the use of a blog-styled article simultaneously released with a news story could confuse public perception even further.
To conclude, ethical dilemmas are pervasive in the everyday lives of media professionals. It takes a conscious effort and a strong moral compass to avoid going down paths one may not even immediately view as problematic. Eligon, a very successful journalist who sheds a powerful, important light on injustices facing our country, must be careful to not fall into the trap of framing a story based on personal opinions or audience appeal. Additionally, he must be careful to avoid losing his objectivity as a reporter when posting opinion-like pieces or phrases to social sites.
Works Cited
Brüggemann, M. (2014). Between frame setting and frame sending: How journalists contribute to news frames. Communication Theory, 24(1), 61-82. doi:10.1111/comt.12027
Foreman, G. (2016). The ethical journalist: Making responsible decisions in the digital age. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
Gorman, B. (2018). Objectivity in Journalism. Canadian Journal of Communication, 43(1), 112. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct= true&db=ufh&AN=128670467&site=ehost-live&scope=site