Why reporters are getting fat and lazy!

Desmond Allen

WHAT WOULD reporters do without the telephone? It's getting so that nearly every other news story gleefully informs the reader: "Mr. So-and-So could not be reached for comment; efforts to contact Mrs. Lady proved futile; or Dr. X-and-Y did not immediately return our telephone call."

Reporters need to take the matter of getting response from the other side seriously. A story is not finished, nor can it be balanced, until all sides have been contacted and given a chance to state their piece. Only after all reasonable and creative efforts have been exhausted without success, should a reporter or editor accept that disclaimer.

And in the event that the story has to be run without the response of the other side, the reporter needs to continue efforts to get that other side and should be made to do so by the editor, if he/she gives up the chase too soon. We should never assume that the onus is on the other side to find the reporter.

The telephone, despite the fact that it is speedy, convenient and usually less costly, is only one means of contacting someone for a response. E-mail is now an important tool, especially since we can verify if the message was opened. There is the facsimile. And if those fail, reporters can also jump in their car or the company's and knock on the door of the party being sought.

The most ridiculous thing I have seen is the case of the reporter who was at an assignment with a certain person, but later wrote in another story the same day that the individual could not be contacted for comment! It's just plain laziness. No wonder some reporters are getting so fat!

Congrats Lascelles Chin

Let me add my congratulations to Lascelles Chin of the Lasco group who made off with the Business Observer Business Leader Award for 2000 at last Thursday's ceremony at the Hilton Hotel. And well done to the other nine nominees.

Spike readers' comments

Dear Spike, Dawn Ritch's article in The Sunday Gleaner of May 13 had 'hari-kiri'. It should be 'hara-kiri'. Also The Star Sports headline 'Arnett draw first blood' should really be 'Arnett draws first blood'. I should believe Arnett is one team ­ Dalchie Brown dalchie@hotmail.com.

Dear Spike, well now that you have admitted that you read the gossip columns, did you notice an item in Chit Chat two weeks ago about a "smiling lawyer" and a spurned "homely wife"? Well, the wife in question is far from homely, which according to The New Shorter Oxford means "plain or unattractive in appearance". However, she IS very devoted to maintaining an attractive home and lovingly bringing up her children.

While The Shorter Oxford does include reference to homely as pertaining to the home (as do other dictionaries, such as dictionary.com), the primary connotation of the word regards one's appearance. Nevertheless, I've noticed recently that many people in Jamaica, particularly in the media, use the word to describe activities pertaining to the home, which can be quite misleading and even embarrassing (such as in that juicy gossip piece). I'm hoping that bringing this to your attention (and through you to the media, in general) might help to discontinue the incorrect use of the word. Regards, Artemis ­ artemis98@hotmail.com.

Hi Desmond. I agree with you about the role of an editor in publishing (Friday, May 11). Although I am, at heart, a reporter, most of my career in the news business was spent at the editor's desk. This has given me much insight into the capabilities of people in the business. And yes, you are right, many reporters who are excellent at digging up facts can't fashion them into a story that sings. So the editor's role here is vital in shaping the final product. One of the things we did at the CBC, where I spent 25 years, was what we called 'vetting' stories. Every re-porter, correspondent or stringer had to run their item past an editor, either from the broadcast for which the item was intended, or from an editor on the assignment desk. This helped to focus the items sharply, check the accuracy of people, places and events, spot potential legal and ethical booby-traps, guard against libel, ensure uniform pronunciation and language usage, and make sure that the reporter used sound inserts to the best possible advantage.

A few years ago I did a short stint at KLAS, helping the news people sharpen their skills. One of the things which stood out starkly for me was the impact the lack of strong producers had on the output of the station. It is the main reason why programmes such as The Breakfast Club, Mutty Perkins' soap box and Baba-tunde's everlasting rants run on and on with the same topic, flogging it to death and repeating themselves over and over. The producer's role is to sit back and listen to the programme, and then guide it from topic to topic. But much of Jamaican broadcasting lacks this crucial element, and so we end up with unfocused, undisciplined, wagga-wagga programmes that ruin good material by mis-handling it.

One little caveat about your piece today: COPY is a generic term for the material reporters turn in and editors process. It is like sheep or aircraft -- it is both singular and plural. So no matter how much stuff we are dealing with, it is always referred to as COPY. ­ Keeble

McFarlane, Ontario, Canada keeble.mack@sympatico.com.

Send spikeables to spike@jol.com.jm; desal@cwjamaica.com; or fax to 926-0295.

Desmond Allen is a 27-year veteran of journalism.

Back to Commentary