We're ALL Reporters, and We've Redefined News

Associated Press's decision to release a photo of a mortally wounded soldier last month drew criticism from many Americans, including service veterans and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who, in a scathing letter to the AP's top editor, called the move "appalling." While the photo is graphic, it helps to accurately depict a tragic story in a war filled with violence and death. "AP journalists document world events every day. Afghanistan is no exception," Santiago Lyon, the AP's director of photography, told Politico. "We feel it is our journalistic duty to show the reality of the war there, however unpleasant and brutal that sometimes is."

The story was the cause for discussion on cable news networks, where one pundit made an interesting point: people these days don't want someone to tell them what they can and can't watch. As the news media evolves, he explained, people, especially youth, are becoming more and more adjusted to raw, unfiltered, unmediated news.

No doubt, the all-access, over-shared approach that revealed itself through blogging and grew with social media has affected readers' expectations of what news can, and should, be. More journalists, broadcasters in particular, are jumping on board with social media, telling viewers to "join the conversation" by Tweeting them, or commenting on their Facebook, Myspace or blog. In the case of CNN's Twitter use, particularly by this guy, it gets a bit annoying (See Jon Stewart's humorous commentary here and here).

As a guest on CNN's "Reliable Sources," Rick Sanchez defended social media and even professed "social media has made me a better journalist." Gregg Doyel, a blogger for cbssports.com, responded, saying Twitter "is the teenybopperification of America." Whether it's teeny talk or not, it's a fact that politicians and newsmakers are using social networks to bypass the news media and deliver their messages directly to the public. And the public is following. Sarah Palin, for example, used Twitter to respond to accusations and her media treatment during her time in the governor's office. She also uses Facebook now.

It's no secret that news providers, specifically newspapers, are scrambling to find a successful model that will haul in profits and allow for industry growth while at the same time maintain conventional journalistic standards. Web advertising has not, as of yet, been the answer, and there are indications of desperation from the newspapers left standing. I recently discussed the evolution of news with Pam James, managing editor of the Coshocton Tribune and the Zanesville Times Recorder, two of Ohio's Gannett newspapers. She told me about an interesting test that none of the other editors in the group would try. The paper assigned a story to a reporter about a young, local woman who made a living modeling and dancing in the Columbus area. The story was assigned to be written in two different ways: the conventional way for the papers' print editions and more provocatively for the Web. The article's headline was "Big hopes in a small package."

Here's a sample from the online version:

One photo shoot she didn't turn down was for FIGHT magazine, which featured a five-page spread of her in the August issue.

The interview with Tiffany in the magazine is a brief 10 questions, but it's the photo that spreads across both pages below the interview that's the attention-getter. Tiffany is draped in nothing but a bra, frilly underwear, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat.

Looking right into the camera with a sultry look on her face, she looks like she's seductively climbing down the log under her.

The previous page introduces you to Tiffany and clearly shows off her Syrian and Lebanese ancestry that gives her a unique, exotic look. The magazine calls her "vintage beauty."

Those last three descriptive paragraphs were not included in the print version. At one point, the newspaper's online article describes offers of large sums of money requesting Tiffany pose nude, to which she says she turns down and is quoted as saying: "I have certain morals. I'm not going to have my boobs out there or anything like that. I have nothing against girls that do that, but I won't. That and my fiance might have something to say about that, and my parents. I don't want them to see that."

That's right. She said "boobs" in a newspaper, er, well, on the newspapers' Web site, at least. And for a couple of newspapers in small-town, Appalachian Ohio that have been around for a while (one is celebrating 100 years this year), "boobs" is a controversial word.

The result? The article struck gold, inspiring hundreds of comments, (albeit lots of nasty ones) and thousands of page views, because it was written in a slightly more provocative way, James said. The article's comment option was eventually turned off due to "multiple violations" of the site's terms of service.

The stories both online and in print included the same photo -- a mugshot of Tiffany. James said she received only a "handful" of calls from print readers, and most of them were complaining about the online version.

Perhaps James' nonscientific test indicates that our cultural acceptance of certain levels of invasive journalism and laundry-airing is changing. Or, maybe it proves a marketing truism: sex sells. This is not to say we're evolving into a tabloid-crazed nation. The bigger point is that the popularity of accuracy isn't fading, but as our attention shifts to user-generated, wiki-type content, accuracy will be a consumer's legitimate concern. It's a balance between information independence and reliability.

The more we choose to take journalists out of the information cycle, the less reliable the sources, but if it's reliability and accuracy we want, then we are choosing to allow the media to have more control over the content we consume. Meanwhile, journalists will look for ways to attract more readers and gain more page views. Whether that means being overly friendly with social media requests or writing stories with a bit more spice, I'm not sure. But, before too long, I'm sure someone will figure it out. I certainly hope so at least.


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