Reporting to a conclusion
Monday, 2 January, 2012 — journalism
Finishing a thought on beat reporting I started to have working on my previous post.
Sustained writing about a topic leads to a level of expertise that allows the writer (reporter) to synthesize facts, develop an analysis and – crucially — show what follows from that.
An example of this has been the News & Observer’s work on the intersection of misconduct at the state crime lab, an erratic District Attorney in Durham County and the request by Michael Peterson, convicted of murdering his wife, to get a new trial. That request was granted Dec. 14, 2011.
Because of the depth of reporting on both the SBI and Tracey Cline, the N&O is free to take more license in the news article itself (not just on the editorial pages). In the retrial decision, reporter Joseph Neff can write the following without finding a source to say it for him (emphasis added below):
The Peterson hearing provided evidence that SBI supervisors knew from the start of Deaver’s career that he had a strong bias toward the prosecution. In 1988, soon after being hired, Deaver participated in a mock courtroom exercise to prepare him for testifying at trial.
His supervisor at the SBI crime lab noted several weaknesses, including “a strong bias towards the prosecution.”
That was inappropriate; forensic scientists are tasked with being unbiased, using science to find facts irrespective of whether the truth helps prosecution or defense.
In stories on Cline, J. Andrew Curliss could leverage his reporting to write the following on Dec. 6, 2011 (emphasis added):
Coleman said the motions seem to relate to Cline’s efforts in voluminous court filings recently that allege the senior judge in the county, Orlando Hudson, is out to punish her because she would not dismiss a murder charge.
One of Cline’s filings runs more than 99,000 words and contains a string of unsupported or disputed allegations against Hudson. It also contains verifiable errors. Another filing by Cline says Hudson has “raped” victims in dismissing charges while finding that defendants’ rights were violated by Cline and others.
Cline seeks to remove Hudson from all criminal cases in Durham while she pursues a complaint against him with the state commission that oversees judges. Her complaint has not been made public.
In both cases, the reporter is making a statement, backed by significant experience with the cases at hand and source material, that makes a clear statement of fact.
I have greatly appreciate the N&O’s reporting across this entire convoluted mess of situations. Even if the stories don’t specifically tell you what reporter knows and believes, the depth and care in the reporting and writing should help the reader reach a conclusion. That conclusion may be, but is not necessarily, the writer’s own.
My argument is that the weighty topics at issue at the beginning of 2012, the ongoing fallout from the economic crash of 2008, climate change, how government acts and holding public figures to account requires the level of care that went into the these examples. Even less weighty topics can get the same treatment. Tech industry reporting and writing, for instance. Sports reporting.
Writers should feel comfortable stating, unequivocally, where their reporting takes them and what their experience provides them in terms of insight.