The cited truth
Lindsey Christ was frustrated. The journalist for the NY1 television network in New York City had seen a 2018 story she had completed air as part of The New York Times’ documentary series The Weekly on the city’s public school system.
The Weekly, which airs on the FX cable network, had featured her report as part of the recently aired episode focusing on priorities being made by New York City officials to integrate city schools, and the challenges in tackling the problem.
There was one issue however — she was not credited for her report, and the Times had only referred to the report as a viral video. She wrote on a Twitter thread Tuesday raising that point.
The Times acknowledged the mistake and updated its web site, as they wrote in a response to her through The Weekly’s Twitter account. It is unclear if the program would be edited to reflect that information for future repeat airings on FX and its other networks.
Lindsey Christ’s Twitter thread however touched on an important lesson journalists need to remember — a lesson that is at the core of the digital media culture that we as a society find ourselves in.
The traditional culture of journalism is seen as an attempt to one up the competition — a winner take all, survival of the fittest routine. At the same time, there’s a lot of information available — so much information that it is hard for consumers to process all of it at the same time.
Original reporting obviously is preferred by many journalists and news organizations, yet with the plethora of information available on a subject, and the need to push that information out there immediately coexisting together, stories on subjects will either overlap or be expanded in the attempt to search for the truth and help make sense of the world.
Therefore, the culture of survival of the fittest, winner take all routine, in this hyper information age, is not conducive to ensuring the public interest is maintained — for it is not about the news organization or the journalist. Instead, it is about the people who matter the most in journalism — the audience.
Articles and reporting that is already out there, whether its from a local or national publication, can be a springboard for ideas for stories that can lead to a better understanding of a policy, an enhanced knowledge of issues in communities that other parts of the country may be facing, and a deeper commitment to finding the truth in order to ensure the audience can be at its best.
Indeed, some ideas that I have recently considered or pitched as a freelancer originated from reporting that was done by my industry peers — many of whom have more talent and confidence in their work and their crafts than I do — and I am proud to cite them in the final product that is produced.
In the world of journalism, citing someone else’s reporting is never a bad thing, nor is it a reflection of a journalist’s reporting abilities. Instead, it gives the audience the ability to access more information about the subject so they can learn more — whether its something on a local scale or a national scale that was the springboard for the idea that led to the final story that is produced.
It also shows, in one small way, collaborative reporting — that reporters in different publications in various parts of the country are committed to ensuring the audience is informed as best as possible.
Journalists, whether employed at a local or national publication, share something in common. These reporters share a sense of curiosity. Through this curiosity, they are dedicated to pursuing the truth for their neighbors —be they on the other side of the street or on the other side of the country. We do this because we all collectively believe that an informed and engaged society is a productive society.
We do this because we know the truth for the sake of the audience— not a news organization scooping another organization — matters most of all, and the search for the truth is something no one person can do by themselves.
So don’t be afraid to cite. Cite early and often. Trust me, the audience will thank you for it.
