Scandal, a word that automatically has a negative connotation attached and makes you think of betrayal, and dishonesty. So why would we want characteristics such as betrayal and honesty affiliated with things you should trust the most? The answer is we don’t. Nevertheless, in many cases that has not been the case for some of our major news outlets. Like many readers if not all, we expect accuracy, facts, and clarity when reading a newspaper or listening to our favorite news outlet, whether it is NBC, CNN or spin off shows. As consumers, we expect facts. Unfortunately, Juan Thompson, a reporter who worked “The Intercept” was caught and confronted about the stories and quotes he fabricated.
Thompson was hired by chief editor Betsy Reed in …show more content…
They made sure to correct his lies and publically apologized to the public. However, I do feel that the entire controversy could have been prevented. Certainly, this is not the first time an ethical controversy has occurred in journalism. We all know the famous stories of Stephen Glass, Jayson Blayer and Brian Williams. It is almost a given and prior knowledge that fabrication, plagiarism, and one’s imagination should not be affiliated when writing for a major news outlet.
In Addition, every major or small news outlet has a system in place to avoid ethical scandals in Journalism. Therefore, it is mind boggling that in 2015 and 2016, Journalist are being exposed for untrue stories. Before any article is made public, editors are suppose to fact check and verify every detail including the interviewer , the interviewee, time and place. If systems like this are in place at a popular news outlet such as The Intercept , why are cases like Juan Thompson still occurring? The answer is simple, the editors are not verifying the work of the reporters. Like I stated , the cases before Thompson should have been a lesson learned and an example of the damage that can be done when employees are not attentive to what they are suppose to do. I would have done a lot of things differently if I was in power when the incident
Thompson was hired by chief editor Betsy Reed in …show more content…
They made sure to correct his lies and publically apologized to the public. However, I do feel that the entire controversy could have been prevented. Certainly, this is not the first time an ethical controversy has occurred in journalism. We all know the famous stories of Stephen Glass, Jayson Blayer and Brian Williams. It is almost a given and prior knowledge that fabrication, plagiarism, and one’s imagination should not be affiliated when writing for a major news outlet.
In Addition, every major or small news outlet has a system in place to avoid ethical scandals in Journalism. Therefore, it is mind boggling that in 2015 and 2016, Journalist are being exposed for untrue stories. Before any article is made public, editors are suppose to fact check and verify every detail including the interviewer , the interviewee, time and place. If systems like this are in place at a popular news outlet such as The Intercept , why are cases like Juan Thompson still occurring? The answer is simple, the editors are not verifying the work of the reporters. Like I stated , the cases before Thompson should have been a lesson learned and an example of the damage that can be done when employees are not attentive to what they are suppose to do. I would have done a lot of things differently if I was in power when the incident