By: Ashley Strain

What is accountability?  Accountability is the acknowledgement of one’s actions, decisions, and policies, assuming responsibility for them, and accepting punishment in the case of misconduct.  What does this mean for journalists?  Reporters’ actions, decisions, and policies should serve as tools for informing the public on important issues in an ethical manner.

The current state of accountability  When journalists violate that rules of accountability their popularity and trust with the public diminishes.  In the past couple of years, the public’s trust in journalists and the media in general has decreased.

So, why is this happening?  According to Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, authors of The Elements of Journalism, “a gulf has begun to form between businesspeople and newspeople-and, worse between reporters and newsmanagers.”  “There are plenty of times when advertising representatives contact me and say a certain company wants coverage for things such as ribbon-cutting events, and it doesn’t matter if I want to do it or not.” –Dan Newman, managing editor and staff reporter for the Edison-Metuchen Sentinel and the Woodbridge Sentinel.

Cont.  Due to decline in advertising revenue, The New York Times had to cut 100 newsroom jobs in 2008 and a month ago in October. The Huffington Post reported that these cuts amounted to 8% of the newsroom staff.  What all of this amounts to is that journalists are more accountable to advertisers than to the public.

What else is affecting accountability?  Journalists need to practice what they preach. If a reporter is going to criticize a subject for his/her behavior than that reporter should not participate in that behavior either.  Here are some examples:  Scott Gerber  The New York Times and the war

How to fix accountability?  The media must thoroughly and efficiently correct mistakes. It not only shows shortcomings, but also shows the public that the media cares about being honest and accurate.  “The Sentinels print corrections whether the mistakes are pointed out by readers or found by reporters upon reviewing the printed copy. It is stressed to employees that it is a very important responsibility to be swift and accurate when correcting mistakes.” –Dan Newman.

Preventing mistakes.  Fact-checking prior to print.  One of the best ways to fact check, according to Ron F. Smith, author of Ethics in Journalism, is to review stories, especially quotes, with sources. This prevents carelessness, sloppiness, and rushed stories.  However, not every news organization is comfortable with this practice.

Cont.  Employing beat reporters and diverse newsrooms.  While working on beats reporters gain the knowledge and background that is necessary to know how things work in certain communities.  Diversity in the newsroom helps media provide the public with culturally accurate information.  Otherwise, “ignorance can…result in stories that fail to provide perspective…and significance of news events.” –Ron F. Smith

Cont.  Understanding complex topics.  Reporters need to be able to understand economics, politics, business, and etc. in laymen’s terms so that they can accurately report them to the laymen.  This can be done by:  Employing journalists with a specialized degree.  Reaching out to specialists who can make better sense of these subjects.

The best way to ensure accountability is…  Listen to feedback from the public whether or not it’s positive in nature and follow through with it.  “Negative feedback should be seen as a good thing because it means that the public is paying attention to the media and engaging with it in order to make better reporters, this is the biggest help a journalists can get.” –Dan Newman