In the 9(ish) broadcasts I have watched at the station all of them had at least one error per broadcast. When I ask about running a correction the producers never seem interested. Today, for instance, the producer of the 11 p.m. news show presented New Hampshire's average gas prices throughout the state which I told him at the time of broadcast looked incorrect. Another employee told him that his facts were incorrect and showed him how to get the correct facts. The producer said it was not a large enough mistake to correct (the gas price difference from what was reported to truth was more than 10 cents).
A woman called me today. Her son had been in one of our stories, he had dies in a car accident and she cried to me on the phone. We had aired footage of the car burning on the highway. She had told the producer that it was unethical to show footage of her son dying but my editor said it was fine because the person had been ejected from the car and died instantly, which was not shown in the footage.
I was impressed by the one correction I've seen at the station. I had told my boss that there was a huge error about a new airline which they had said would run 2 flights per week but the correct information was that it would have two flights per day. I got the correction in immediately and they ran it.
People rely on their news and trust the facts that they get from us, especially as an ABC and CNN affiliate and I am more and more disappointed in broadcast journalism as I am around it more. I knew that this internship would be the point where I decide if I want to continue to pursue this aspect of my education or stick strictly to print journalism, and I must say, it is what I thought it would be. I am disappointed that my expectations of misreporting were true. This industry seems too proud to admit that they do not always report perfectly, which is a shame.
One of the workers in the producer's booth had told me on my first day "You know why we have broadcast news?" when I answered to spread truth he laughed and told me "No, to sell commercials." I'm beginning to believe it.
9hrs
