Word Wide Watchdog... Good or Bad

Meg Omecene

megomecene@gmail.com

@megomecene

Every night for the last four years, I have fallen asleep listening to the soothing sounds of Ira Glass’s narration of one of the more than 500 episodes of This American Life. I could contend for the show’s biggest fan award and constantly mention anecdotes from that week’s episode in everyday conversation. (Sorry to all my non-public radio- loving friends.)

Ira Glass has a 500 episode hangover. (Photo courtesy Buzzfeed.)

This summer, as This American Life rolled over to its 500^th episode, host Ira Glass was hit with accolades of praise for the innovation and continuity of the show, which has tackled subjects from healthcare to heartbreak. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Glass said that one of his favorite episodes was from 2011 and came to have a significant impact.

(Video courtesy newsy.com)

The aforementioned episode detailed the alleged transgressions of a Georgia county court judge who was showing those who came through her court “very tough love.” The episode employed watchdog journalism to enumerate multiple cases that the judge had chosen harsh punishments for minor crimes. A few months after the story aired, the judge, Amanda Williams, stepped down.

This instance of watchdog journalism shows the power that the press can have. In exercising this power, Ira Glass and the rest of the crew at This American Life were able to right wrongs that could have continued for years. This ability, unique to the press because of its visibility, allowed the dizzy -with-power judge’s reign to end. According to Glass, “The presence and visibility of the radio show about her — I know this is true because I’ve talked to people now who were part of that process — raised the profile of that case and kind of expedited it. They brought charges against her, and she stepped down from office.”

However, sometimes that visibility can wrongly do damage, and then it is the press’ duty to right it. In one of the most popular This American Life episodes, “Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory”, Mike Daisey spun a tale of the woe of those who work in some of China’s Apple factories. There was widespread public outrage over the allegations. However, a few episodes later, for the first time in This American Life history, Ira Glass had to produce a retraction episode.

How much of the seeds of beliefs of wrongdoing can really be wiped out? It is the press’ duty to ensure that the facts in possibly libelous stories are correct. While that may seem like a “no-duh,” perhaps if I were in a newsroom and a story like the Mike Daisey’s broke, I think that it would be very hard to struggle with the craving to be first with the need to confirm every detail of the story.

I think that these conflicting pressures are a huge ethical dilemma for journalists and it is important that we are aware of this going into the field. While I do not think that This American Life was irresponsible in publishing their original story, and they did everything in their power to rectify their wrong, it still could have hurt Apple’s reputation.