Thesis Defense Nov. 19, 2014

Topic The Diminishing Role of Ombudsmen in American Journalism News Ombudsman: Independent arbiter between a news organization’s news staff and the public that consumes the news.

Why Ombudsmen? News ombudsmen came onto the scene in the 1960s They became more popular from 1990-2007 (high 50’s) Since 2008, the numbers have been declining There are now less than two dozen across the country, in 1,600 outlets Conversely, news ombudsmen are gaining in numbers and popularity internationally I was interested in the topic because I enjoy journalism ethics, and this position creates industry conversation

Benefits of Ombudsmen Audiences take mistakes very seriously When news organizations publically fix mistakes it helps develop credibility Giving space to an independent arbiter helps maintain high standards (perception) Transparency=credibility Can’t fire an ombud for content since they are on a contract

Cons of Ombudsmen Undefined role in many instances Some duties can be repetitive with other editors Audience may not know what function they serve Salary may be expensive as they are usually high-ranking editors or have a lot of experience Many hire assistants as well They have a lot to cover in new age of media Space in newspaper could be used for something else

Key Point Ombudsmen numbers are declining, while multiple studies show the publics confidence in media is waning 2009 Pew Study: Press accuracy rating hit 20-year low 2014 Gallup Study: 40 percent of surveyed news consumers say they have “not very much” trust in the media they consume

Research Questions What factors are leading to the declining number of ombudsmen? What can, and what are ombudsmen being replaced with, if anything? What will the news ombudsman position look like moving forward? Are news ombudsmen wanted by those who work in a newsroom?

Methodology - Qualitative Three target populations: All known, working ombuds Former ombuds Journalism professors with research interests in ethics A 10-question qualitative survey was emailed to 88 individuals Jan 15-Feb 28, 2014 26 returned the survey 29.5% return rate Respondents typed responses and returned via email Responses were coded and grouped by like keywords or themes Limits Time, budget, complete list of names not available

Qualitative Findings Make-up of respondents: One editor at a major newspaper One president of a state news council 11 journalism ethics professors Six current news ombudsmen Seven former news ombudsmen (from five news orgs.)

Qualitative Findings Respondents think ombudsmen positions have positive value to outlets. There is an general agreement that finances play a huge role in the elimination of most ombudsmen positions. Once an ombudsman position is eliminated, the duties are being reassigned to others in the newsroom, not completely eliminated. Respondents believe the effects of losing an ombud are mostly perceptive on the part of the reader. This could be a future study. The collective outlook of the respondents is that the position is in irreversible decline.

Methodology - Quantitative Target population: Working journalists in print, broadcast and online journalism Email database was compiled from company websites A 20-question qualitative survey was sent to 3,094 individuals Survey built on SurveyMonkey.com April 21-May 30, 2014 528 respondents 17.07% return rate 3.88% margin of error Limits Time, budget, respondents’ previous knowledge

Quantitative Findings -528 responses out of 3,094 surveys emailed out -17.1 percent response rate -3.88% margin of error -Current working journalists in the United States -Emails were acquired through company websites

Quantitative Findings Journalists understand what an ombudsman is and what they do for the most part. However they don’t think they need help with ethics. They see ombudsmen as a luxury. The journalists agreed ombudsmen have real effects on news coverage, can help with ethical problems, and have a positive effect on a newsroom. However, they think they already handle ethics well, and 48 percent think editors handle ombudsmen duties well as a staff. The biggest red light of this thesis to me is that of the journalists polled. 82 percent think they only face ethical dilemmas five or fewer times each week. The journalists were not keen on outside bloggers or media critics acting as watchdogs for their news org., but were open to journalism colleges doing that job.

What I Take Away From This Process -How to conduct research and the time involved. -Journalism ethics are always evolving, being discussed, and there are no right answers in a changing landscape. -Ombudsmen positions will continue to decrease or hit a low ceiling in the next 15-20 years due to current trajectory and feelings towards the position. -Journalists think they don’t face very many ethical dilemmas in a given week. -Capitalism will ultimately decide if news consumers care about ethics and solid journalism practices. Their consumption habits will spell out their levels of interest and apathy in both the journalistic process and overall press accuracy.

Ideas for future studies -This study ended up largely exploratory. It only scratch the surface on this topic. Other topics to explore in the future: -Try to measure the effect of losing an ombudsman within a news organization -Survey International ombudsmen and try to ascertain why their numbers are growing -Perform in-depth case studies on real effects ombudsmen have on various publics (communities, readers, online readers, social media) -Study different forms of media watchdogs (colleges, news councils, blogs, media critics) -Survey other populations for attitudinal data (students, young news consumers)

Questions and discussion Thesis Defense Questions and discussion