Are armchair journalists the new media?

Last week I coached some PTA members who were being interviewed by their local newspaper. The issue was that an abundance of cease-and-desist letters were issued by the school banning parents from entering school property for weak reasons such as asking questions during school board meetings. This week the article was published. It was fair and balanced and the PTA members were quoted well.  

But that wasn’t the end of the story. After the article was published a storm erupted online. Other parents who didn’t agree with the PTA members used the comments section of the online article to air their grievances. Over the course of the next week a form of cyberbullying erupted when these women not only commented on the article but discussed other concerns that weren’t the focus of the article and then took the opportunity to make personal comments. At one point the reporter had to enter the online discussion reminding the women of the focus of his story and asking them to take personal comments and attacks off line.

Is this what it has come to? Grown adults making personal attacks through a newspaper comment section? When conducting media training I remind people that a reporter isn’t out to get them; the reporters are doing their job to try and tell an objective, fact-based story. It is up to the person being interviewed to be prepared with key messages as a way to provide concise, quotable information and have their point of view represented in the article. 

This is what I told the PTA members. But I didn’t tell them to beware the public – the school board members who have a personal vendetta, a computer and no filter. As a former Journalism student I considered the fact that a professional reporter is expected to write a fair and objective story but the people who comment aren’t held to the same requirements. They can tell one side of the story, provide unsubstantiated “facts” and provide subjective opinions.

I have many friends who are newspaper reporters and are concerned about the future of their industry. I am concerned, too. More and more people are getting their “news” off of the internet from armchair journalists who practice the First Amendment but aren’t held accountable to any standards.

As a regular internet user and reader myself I value the ability to get news online but fear the day when real reporters are replaced by people with an opinion and a computer. A blog is a biased, opinion piece not an objective article of fact. It is the difference between an online encyclopedia  and Wikipedia – one has facts and the other has “facts” written by anyone who wants to make an entry on a topic.

As for the PTA members, I reminded them that although the internet has a broad reach there is only a small group that actively reads or participates in the online comments. Nevertheless this will probably be the last time they agree to help a reporter with a story. They don’t fear the media they fear the public. This is bad news for reporters who rely on sources to tell their story. And this is bad news for a media relations professional like myself who spends her time convincing busy executives and professionals to do media interviews.