And when a journalist is found guilty of being inaccurate or exaggerating information, what might be the repercussions?
The question was asked in 2007 about Fox News and how it often flavors its news with adjectives and adverbs to influence judgment. A viewer asked what happens to journalists who do that on Fox.
The answer, on a Yahoo site where writers are designated experts in a given area of news and information, was an explanation, with excerpts used as appropriate:
Fox is a private company, selling a product – not a wing of the government. It is bad PR for Fox, and unethical journalism, but no crime unless the result of the falsification is slanderous or libelous.
As an example, the answer continues with this:
Saying that somebody was “forced against their will” is extreme language that would lead one to conclude that the person was tortured physically. People make CHOICES to sacrifice their morality for their job everyday – this is the essence of free will.”
In the case of Brian Williams he was reported to have claimed that in 2003 while in Iraq covering news of the war the helicopter in which he was a passenger was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. It was later learned he was actually a passenger on a different helicopter.
Williams, who anchors the evening news for NBC, is said to be leaving the network at least for a few days because of what are considered embarrassing revelations, casting doubt on other stories he has reported, including those about Hurricane Katrina 10 years ago.
He said in a statement released today “As Managing Editor of NBC Nightly News, I have decided to take myself off of my daily broadcast for the next several days,” but Williams says he will come back, adding, “Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us.”
And while the news of Williams’ reporting is at the top of the news today, the media convicting the media has been the source of satire, by journalists like Geraldo Rivera. Rivera offered an amusing observation that journalists often write stories about the wrongdoing of the media, whether it is true or not, as a way of creating a story where there might not be one of value at all, except for the journalists themselves.
On the other hand, Brian Williams, as a high profile news reporter and anchor, is among the elite in his profession; and his own admission of being “presently too much of the news, due to my actions,” offers the opening for further news stories about him that CNN hints will be the case.
