[ad_1]
So how could rumors become news without further evidence, especially something as salacious as an alleged affair between the South Dakota government. Kristi noem and Corey Lewandowski, a global actor to Trump and informal adviser to Noem?
It was an extraordinary case, but in the end it was not difficult to publish. Sometimes the decision of what is of interest escapes us. The Noem-Lewandowksi case was just such a case.
While I was busy deliberating on the wrong source of the rumors, Noem made the decision herself to cover the news by tweeting a statement regarding the rumors. His public statement made the news.
A Brief History: I’m the South Dakota State Chief Information Officer for Forum News Service, which is part of Forum Communications Co. That means when it comes to deciding what and what not to cover in South Dakota for my business, the responsibility ends with me.
I had heard the rumors of the Noem-Lewandowski affair before. South Dakota politics is a tiny, talkative world in its own right, in a tiny state. I hear a lot of rumors that I don’t report. All journalists do.
I had verified these business rumors as best I could, and I was unable to verify them. So I haven’t published anything about them. This is how the standards of professional journalism work. Then came Wednesday, September 29.
I’m focused on this specific decision, but like any editor, it’s one of dozens of topical decisions I make every day. This is how I made the decision I made.
Consider the source
The subject of the Noem-Lewandowski affair was making the rounds on conservative social media that Wednesday.
The first question I ask myself in this type of situation: was there a clear source of these rumors? I started looking online to verify.
Now, I cannot choose what you consider to be “news”. Unlike in the past, when you got most of your news from your local TV or newspaper, you now get your news from many places online, including social media and anonymous websites. We no longer live in a closed media ecosystem.
But I decide what news my company publishes from South Dakota.
In this case, the source of the online business rumors was an article posted on a conservative website that I had never heard of before called “American Greatness.”
From a quick review, it appeared to be a site that published opinion pieces, not news. Its writers have a history of confusing Republicans, including Noem, whom they don’t consider conservative enough.
An unnamed opinion site with a grinding ax? It is not a trustworthy source of information.
Choose who to trust
Then there were the anonymous sources. The claim of “American greatness” rested entirely on them.
I don’t like anonymous sources. Reports are always stronger and more reliable when based on named sources, and most reputable news agencies have strict standards regarding the use of anonymous sources.
A site like “American Greatness” does not necessarily maintain such standards.
If a professional news organization publishing information from an anonymous source has a long history of success and has a lot to lose if something goes wrong, I am more inclined to trust it and repeat its reporting.
I can even trust lesser-known media reports based on the clear evidence they have. If they have named sources or provided documents to back up their claims, it also gives me a lot more confidence to repeat what they are reporting.
“American Greatness” did not have a solid track record of news reporting, named sources, or reputable literature. Again, this is not a reliable source of information.
Adjust when things change
Remember how I said we no longer live in a closed media ecosystem? There is another key element to this.
Unlike in the past, famous people and politicians can bypass journalists and speak directly to the public through social media. These messages count as public statements. They are counting.
This Wednesday afternoon, Noem tweeted a message about the rumors. She denied them and called them garbage and lies.
It fundamentally changed the calculation of media coverage. Noem had chosen to go to the public to deny the matter. She was on file. Reporting her denial meant that we also had to explain what she was denying.
In the end, it was a relatively simple decision: if Noem hadn’t officially denied these rumors, we wouldn’t have reported it. But once she did, we did.
Now that was news.
Jeremy Fugleberg is the South Dakota State Chief Information Officer and Health Correspondent for Forum News Service. He is a member of the FCC Editorial Advisory Board. He can be contacted by email at [email protected] or on Twitter: @jayfug
[ad_2]
Source link