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| Sunday, 30 October 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Media Watch Editor opens rift over CIA 'leak' by Paul Harris New York: Fallout from the scandal of how a secret CIA operative's name came to be leaked to the U.S. media, which is threatening to engulf the White House in crisis this week, has also reached the newsroom of the venerable New York Times. In an extraordinary memo to the paper's staff, Executive Editor Bill Keller has launched a thinly-veiled attack on its controversial reporter Judith Miller, who spent 85 days in jail to protect the identity of a secret source in the affair of the CIA operative Valerie Plame. He said Ms. Miller had misled the paper about the real nature of her contacts with her source, later revealed as Lewis `Scooter' Libby, a White House aide who could face criminal charges this week. Secret contacts The Plame affair involves an investigation into whether White House officials deliberately leaked Ms. Plame's identity and undercover job at the CIA as a punishment for her husband Joe Wilson's accusations that the Bush administration was twisting intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. Mr. Keller said he had been unaware of the exact nature of Ms. Miller's secret contacts with Libby, and that if he had known about them he would have been less willing to back Ms. Miller in her court fight to protect her source's identity. The memo reveals deep fractures in America's most respected newspaper and is the latest problem to hit the Times, which is still recovering from the Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal. Ms. Miller has been derided by many colleagues for her role in pushing the White House line on Iraq's weapons programmes, but lauded by others for going to jail to protect a source. Her high-profile role in the affair has prompted a round of heart-searching in American journalism about the use of unnamed sources and the often too close relationship between the Washington press corps and administration officials. But the newpaper's troubles are now just one offshoot of the affair that began as an obscure investigation into a leak but has spread to become the biggest crisis facing (U.S. President) George Bush in his five years in office. White House officials are braced for possible criminal charges against Mr. Libby, Mr. Bush's political guru Karl Rove, and perhaps even other officials. If Mr. Rove or Mr. Libby is indicted this week, they are expected to resign while they fight the case in court. Losing Mr. Rove would be a hammer blow to Mr. Bush. He is the architect of Mr. Bush's rise to power and the two men have a friendship going back more than three decades. He is also a bete noir to Democrats, who believe the fall of Mr. Rove would give them a vital boost in next year's crucial mid-term congressional elections. Former White House officials have described a mood in Mr. Bush's inner circle of an administration under siege. "It is a grim place. No one at the top is talking about it. But you can bet it is all they are thinking about,' said one. Few details have emerged from lawyers involved in the case or the many officials called to testify. Yet a picture has emerged of a probe focusing on the work of a shadowy organisation within the heart of the White House called the White House Iraq Group. Both Mr. Libby and Mr. Rove were members of the secretive WHIG which was formed to put forward the view to the American public that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the U.S. Mr. Wilson had been tasked in 2002 with going to Niger to investigate claims that Iraq was trying to buy uranium there. When he returned sceptical of the idea, he felt his opinion was ignored and the Niger issue still used as part of the case for war. He eventually went public in an article in the New York Times. Shortly afterwards, his wife's name and job appeared in a column written by conservative writer Robert Novak. Mr. Libby and Mr. Rove have both reportedly testified that they learnt about Ms. Plame from others, did not know she had covert status and did not knowingly leak her identity. But many insiders believe the real importance of the investigation no longer lies with the detail of leaking Ms. Plame's name. Though that charge carries a potential jail term, it might be difficult to prove on narrow legal grounds or that the leaking was deliberate. Instead, it is now thought (Special Prosecutor) Patrick Fitzgerald has focused on possibly conflicting testimony given by Mr. Rove, Mr. Libby and perhaps others during the lengthy inquiry. That would leave them open to charges of perjury, false statement or obstruction of justice if Mr. Fitzgerald believes he was deliberately misled or lied to. Another possibility is that he would issue indictments on the lesser charge of leaking classified information, carrying a lower burden of proof than just a straight charge over knowingly breaking a CIA agent's cover. A third possibility would be a more wide-ranging conspiracy charge, seen in Washington as a "nuclear option" that could devastate the administration. It would have to show that several officials deliberately planned together to expose Ms. Plame. Wilder rumours last week even envisaged Vice-President Dick Cheney being involved and forced to step down. Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004. Courtesy: The Hindu ########### Watchdog journalism Excerpts from the summary of a discussion conducted by the Poynter Institute with a group of Editors as reported in the website poynter.org What, exactly, is watchdog journalism? Orlando Sentinel Editor Charlotte Hall put it like this: "Watchdog journalism is a state of mind for the whole newspaper: Journalism that gives power to people." Watchdog journalism is at the heart of a newspaper's commitment to public service. What role should newsroom policies and systems play in the health of a watchdog culture? It is vital to have policies and systems for watchdog journalism - you cannot get by without them. * Conduct training that establishes a watchdog sensibility and develops techniques. For example, the Atlanta Journal Constitution conducted mandatory training sessions on the Freedom of Information Act. Those sessions not only made more people aware of the FOI Act; it also established that kind of reporting as a high priority. * When conducting training, be vigorous in preventing dropouts in order to convey the importance of watchdog journalism. * Recognize that hiring is the first and most important step: consider the applicant's track record, their commitment and their toolbox during a rigorous interview process. * Get everyone on the same page - sometimes we can't believe what some in the newsroom don't know. Manage performance: Hold people accountable for watchdog reporting on all beats. Praise excellent work and encourage learning and execution on the topic. Bennie Ivory, Editor, The Courier-Journal, Ron Royhab, Editor, The Blade Barry Sussman, Editor, Watchdog Project, The Nieman Foundation Gil Thelen, Publisher and President, Tampa Tribune Julia Wallace, Editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. What values and assumptions should be ingrained in a watchdog culture? These assumptions should be well-established in a newsroom committed to watchdog journalism: * Watchdog reporting is essential to the value of the newspaper * We are a pit bull, not a poodle * Watchdog reporting is a daily event * Everybody has a stake * Collaboration: The work is co-owned * Watchdog journalism reporting is our franchise News organizations interested in creating a watchdog culture should promote the following values: * Fairness, truth-telling * Trust but verify * Collaboration between editors and reporters * Smart risk-taking * Transparency in newsroom and with readers * Learning from failure * A sense of urgency * Intellectual honesty * Setting a specific goal and assigning it a high priority * Hiring investigative editors and reporters * Caring about your community. Peter Bhatia, Executive Editor, The Oregonian Ben Eason, President, Creative Loafing Brant Houston, Executive Director, Investigative Reporters and Editors Janet Weaver, Executive Editor & VP of News, The Tampa Tribune David Zeeck, Executive Editor, The News Tribune. ############## US: 'Newspaper business is at the dawn of a Renaissance' The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) recently released the first Newspaper Audience Database (NADbase) report that includes expanded audience measures. NADbase reports detailed reader demographics, i.e. gender, age group, household income level, and readership for the top U.S. daily newspapers and their web sites. Readership data is provided for the average weekday, the average Sunday as well as cumulative readership of five weekdays or four Sundays. Web site readership, provided by Nielsen//NetRatings, is measured in terms of total unique visitors and page impressions within one month, in this report the month of July. The report will be released every spring and autumn and can be downloaded on www.naa.org/nadbase. In addition, the NAA analyses market data collected by Scarborough Research. This analysis shows that, for the period from February 2004 to March 2005, 77% of all adults and 68% of 18-34 year olds in the top 50 markets are reading a newspaper during the course of one week. The web site data showed 43 million unique visitors to newspaper web sites for the month of July, i.e. 29% of all Internet users visited a newspaper website. Furthermore, 11 of the 25 top national news and information web sites are owned by newspapers. Newspaper sites are also dominant for local information. The wide reach of newspapers is surprising after years of falling circulation. Janet Robinson, CEO of New York Times Co. said in USA Today, "We're not saying people shouldn't look at circulation. But we want to be sure we get the full credit for what newspapers have to offer." John F. Sturm, NAA President and CEO, said, "Readership is the most comparable measure of the value of newspapers to a broad range of consumers and advertisers, and this data demonstrates the value newspapers continue to provide in reaching younger readers ... NADbase is the first step of a major industry initiative to engage with advertisers on the issues critical to their media buying decisions. This first version of NADbase provides extensive information on the audience of our core products and online sites." Jay R. Smith, NAA chairman and president of Cox Newspapers Inc said that if someone were to ask, where news come from, the honest answer would be newspapers. "For too long, however, newspapers only came in one form - ink on paper. Suddenly, all of that has changed. Newspapers still arrive the traditional way, but they also come in compact and tab sizes. They now offer free editions, targeted editions and editions in languages other than English. They've gone digital and now arrive 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via online sites. The newspaper business is at the dawn of a Renaissance." However, Miles Groves, media economist of MG Strategic Research, said in USA Today, "Do I believe this is going to increase newspaper ad share? Probably not. You're competing with people (in TV and the Internet) who measure results every day. Twice a year won't be adequate." With regard to this problem, Sturm said that "there are going to be a lot of conversations" about publishing the report more frequently. Source: Newspaper Association of America (NAA), USA Today. |
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