THE COST OF UNSCRUPULOUS JOURNALISM
by Amanda Paul
Today’s Zaman
Turkey
Nov 1 2011
A journalist’s code of basic principles has always been to seek
the truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be
accountable. These principles remain at the heart of good journalism
ethics.
Such a code also bears true for the academic world and in this
respect, as a policy analyst in a think tank, I always carry out
thorough research when working on a new paper. If there is a need
to quote experts, I am always scrupulously careful, as to misquote a
source demonstrates a real lack of professionalism, particularly on
important or sensitive issues. Moreover, as part of my job, I also
regularly give interviews to the media, including print media, radio,
TV and, as is more and more the case these days, the electronic media.
Over the years I have always been more than happy to do this, regularly
expressing my views on the whole range of different issues that I
cover. Of course one can expect that now and again a reporter may
slightly misquote you or bend what you say to some extent in order
to favor a particular argument or position they are trying to take.
However, on the whole I consider that I have been relatively fortunate
and have had the opportunity to work with excellent journalists from
all over the world, both from well-known media groups as well as
lesser-known regional agencies.
But of course there have been some exceptions, where reporters have
gone too far, crossed the line and twisted what they have been told.
One such case happened to me last week. Usually I would simply say
“that’s life” and shrug it off, but on this occasion it disturbed me
to such an extent that found I simply could not forget the incident
that easily.
This unpleasant experience has caused me a great deal of trouble,
risked damaging my reputation on the issue on which I was interviewed
and left me feeling extremely disappointed by the complete lack of
integrity of the journalist and the news agency for which he worked.
It happened during a conference I recently took part in during which
I was asked to give an interview to a group of media representatives.
The interview was focused on Azerbaijan’s recent success in achieving
a temporary seat on the UN Security Council as well as developments
in the South Caucasus, including related to the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Having dealt many times with various
journalists and news agencies from this part of the world — although
usually via email questions and answers — I accepted to do the
interview with pleasure.
When I returned to my hotel room later in the day, I was somewhat
surprised to find a number of emails from colleagues and friends
asking me, “Amanda did you really say this?” Wondering what on earth
they were talking about, I quickly checked the links I had been sent.
To say the least I was horrified to discover myself as a headline
item in a number of Azerbaijani and Armenian news stories. One of the
news agencies had reported me as saying that I thought it was totally
acceptable for Azerbaijan to retake lands currently under Armenian
occupation by military force given the fact that peace talks had
produced no positive result for almost 20 years. Frankly speaking,
on this topic, there could not really be a more provocative statement
to make. Not surprisingly, I was immediately labeled as a scandalous
warmonger who thought it was acceptable to violate international law.
Of course I had never made such an outrageous statement, and I
immediately complained as well as responded to the article. However, by
that time the story had been picked up all over the electronic media.
I still have no idea whether it was purposely done, or if something
was lost or badly translated or manipulated through the interpreter.
Either way it was a gross error which I find totally unacceptable and
I will certainly never accept to be interviewed by the news agency
that ran the quote again.
Unfortunately, when journalists report lies and propaganda instead
of the truth, the consequences can be catastrophic. Individual
journalists, as well as the media as a whole, have a responsibility to
act in a responsible and scrupulous way. Unfortunately in some parts
of the world journalists remain corrupt and frequently uneducated in
the ways of professional journalism. The media has a responsibility
on its shoulders, which is to guide the people and report the truth.
People often have strong faith in the media and believe that what they
read or hear is the truth, particularly when stories or articles quote
experts. Professional journalists need to be honest and accountable
in their news gathering and reporting. They should certainly treat
their sources with respect and integrity, which was certainly not
the case in my case.