Negative news can bring positive results

Commentary by Kevin Laliberte

Everyday, people in the print and broadcast media industry are faced with moral dilemmas. They must ask themselves the question: Is it right for me to do this? Should we disclose a source? Do we name individuals that wish to remain anonymous? Are we crossing the line from objective reporting to subject opinion? And so on and so on... What holds a society together and provides them with a secure sense of being well-informed is the foundation of ethics. In short, ethics is doing what’s right for the benefit of all mankind. During a time of crisis, we depend heavily on the media to act as they eyes and ears in our communities. Because of this, citizens hold them to a great degree of accountability, trust, and accuracy. As a result, journalists, in no uncertain terms, have to learn to be thick-skinned in order to succeed in their chosen profession. The place of any journalist in the community is an important one indeed given the impact and interpretation of our writing and photographic skills. And yes, we do occasionally make mistakes. We are after all only human. Print media journalism is a truly rewarding career, bringing with it something refreshingly new each and every week. It’s also an occupation which breeds varied opinions, criticism, and finger-pointing at times as we endeavour to provide our readership with a well-balanced and ethical approach towards community news standards. Too often it seems small town community newspapers are labelled as being passive in nature; afraid to tackle the tough and often negative news stories affecting our readers. In the same breath, our counterparts – those at the big city papers – are often criticized for their often pushy, in-your-face and ‘get it all costs’ mentality towards journalism. The one common bond we all share is our obligation as journalists to the community, regardless of whether we’re reporting on a positive or negative news story. Negative news stories can include everything from poor decisions within our educational system, corrupt politicians, or environmental dangers – all worthy topics which the public has a right to know. This isn’t always easy in a small, rural setting where everyone knows each other on a first name basis. Rural journalists regularly run into road blocks in the form of requested gag orders from some (certainly not all) individuals who maximize usage of the most commonly known journalistic copout in the industry – “Don’t quote me on that or “Don’t print that in the paper.” Trust me when I say that if I had a dime for every time someone in the community asked me not to report on a negative news story or publish derogatory comments I’d be a millionaire by this stage of my career. Thankfully, we have a less cowardly majority populous of residents who recognize the value of being open and honest and presenting the cold, hard facts regardless of the associated ill will it may create. The truth is that negative news stories often have a tendency of bringing about positive results. We’ve bore witness to this through the cooperative, helpful efforts of the media which exposed that crooked contractor who took a handful of homeowners to the cleaners, to the local developer who accepted deposits from unsuspecting couples on homes and then got out of ‘Dodge’ only to leave them high and dry. Sure, we all love to read about those positive, ‘feel good’ stories. But negative news stories are a reality of life in this less than perfect world of ours. We don’t write about sensitive, controversial issues to stir the pot and open up a hornet’s nest. We do this because it’s our responsibility and obligation as journalists to you, our valued readers. And I’m positive that’s anything but a negative.