When We Struggle to Report On Our Own …

I think we’re in trouble.

Carlos Miller, who runs the Photography is Not a Crime blog on Pixiq, is a bit of a controversial figure in some folks eyes. He has been arrested by police multiple times while doing his job as a photojournalist.

So when the Miami Herald ran a story about him being arrested during Occupy Miami protests and the National Press Photographers Association stepping in to defend his rights, you’d think that a news organization would get the facts right. Or at least make it clear that they didn’t fact check some things.

Andrew Beaujon at the Poynter Institute took a look at Miller’s complaints about the Herald story and this graf quoting editor Pat Andrews just stunned me:

Andrews says the mistake is a consequence of newsroom economics. “This, unfortunately, is happening to our industry, especially with a newsathering organization like us.” When it comes to story like Miller’s, Andrews says, “We gotta hit it and move on.” And indeed, the fact that the Herald published a piece about Miller’s arrest three weeks after it happened suggests editors there didn’t think Miller’s arrest was the burning issue he did.

HIT IT AND MOVE ON?

Really?

I know it’s not easy working in a newsroom right now, the cuts have been devastating. But you have to make a choice of quantity or quality. You can produce a lot of content and get things wrong, which will destroy your credibility quickly. Or you can be more selective in what you believe is important to your community and do it well, gaining the trust, respect and loyalty of your readers.