attending political rallies

tommangan · **Posted:** Fri Apr 18, 2003 2:07 pm

Our reporters have been told not to attend anti-war rallies and other kinds of political events. How do y'all feel about applying the same rules to desk people?

ToddJBehme · **Posted:** Fri Apr 18, 2003 2:15 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by tom mangan:
Our reporters have been told not to attend anti-war rallies and other kinds of political events. How do y'all feel about applying the same rules to desk people?<hr></blockquote>I apply the rule to myself. I'm not comfortable with appearing at demonstrations. But I have participated in events you could call quasi-public in which my views are probably obvious.[ April 18, 2003: Message edited by: Todd J. Behme ]

gullyj · **Posted:** Fri Apr 18, 2003 3:13 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by tom mangan:
Our reporters have been told not to attend anti-war rallies and other kinds of political events. How do y'all feel about applying the same rules to desk people?<hr></blockquote>Was the only specification anti-war rallies? What about pro-war rallies? What are "other political events?" Could a reporter not attend, say, an all-candidates debate or a Fourth of July picnic?
This is an absurdly silly rule.
The Macedonian and Greek communities in Toronto are always at each other over various historical/political indiscretions but each puts on a great parade annually and they sell terrific souvlaki and baklava. So an off-duty reporter shouldn't go a celebrate a little Opa?

SusanV · **Posted:** Fri Apr 18, 2003 4:33 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by tom mangan:
Our reporters have been told not to attend anti-war rallies and other kinds of political events. How do y'all feel about applying the same rules to desk people?<hr></blockquote> We have a similar rule, and it applies to all of us--anyone in any type of reporting or editorial position. It's never bothered me. I can think of only one writer who has ever objected, and that was years ago. Maintaining the appearance of objectivity is important, IMO.

ToddJBehme · **Posted:** Fri Apr 18, 2003 4:41 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by SusanV:
We have a similar rule, and it applies to all of us--anyone in any type of reporting or editorial position. It's never bothered me. I can think of only one writer who has ever objected, and that was years ago. Maintaining the appearance of objectivity is important, IMO.<hr></blockquote>For me, staying out of rallies and demonstrations is a no-brainer. But something like this might be fuzzier: You go to your local village board or school board meeting as a resident, not a journalist, to speak on something the board might do. The local weekly will have a story on the meeting; it may very well include your comments and name you.What do you guys think about that? Should we stay away from commenting at public meetings? You're actually more likely to draw publicity in that situation than you would be as part of large crowd at a rally.[ April 18, 2003: Message edited by: Todd J. Behme ][ April 18, 2003: Message edited by: Todd J. Behme ]

Hawkeye · **Posted:** Fri Apr 18, 2003 9:30 pm

I think if you attend a large rally and you don't broadcast to everyone that you work for a newspaper, or bring your viewpoints to work, then it's OK. If you hold an anti-war view, for instance, your potential bias will be there in your editing/reporting whether you attend the rally or not. On the job, you should keep your political views in check. When you're off the clock, and it doesn't reflect on your employer, I think it's OK to be yourself.

Matthew Grieco · **Posted:** Sat Apr 19, 2003 1:15 am

I think professional journalists, be they editors, reporters or graphics artists, should never participate in public political activities. I believe it's a freedom one voluntarily surrenders for the duration of one's career as a journalist.We're a special sort of profession, and I think it's fair that we're asked to follow certain special rules.The only exception I can think of is when you're rallying specifically on behalf of a journalistic cause, such as public-records access. If you're openly acting to benefit the profession itself, I think that's beyond reproach.I'm a person of very strong opinions, and there have been a number of events and rallies in the area over the past few years that I would have liked to have attended. I didn't go. My company has an ethics policy more or less to that effect, but aside from that I just don't think it's right.

ToddJBehme · **Posted:** Sat Apr 19, 2003 2:08 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Matthew Grieco:
I think professional journalists, be they editors, reporters or graphics artists, should never participate in public political activities. I believe it's a freedom one voluntarily surrenders for the duration of one's career as a journalist.We're a special sort of profession, and I think it's fair that we're asked to follow certain special rules.The only exception I can think of is when you're rallying specifically on behalf of a journalistic cause, such as public-records access. If you're openly acting to benefit the profession itself, I think that's beyond reproach.I'm a person of very strong opinions, and there have been a number of events and rallies in the area over the past few years that I would have liked to have attended. I didn't go. My company has an ethics policy more or less to that effect, but aside from that I just don't think it's right.<hr></blockquote>I pretty much agree with you all the way. But what if you had kids in the schools in your community and felt very strongly about something the school board was debating? (That's not the case with me; it's just a hypothetical.)

SusanV · **Posted:** Sat Apr 19, 2003 10:46 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Todd J. Behme:
I pretty much agree with you all the way. But what if you had kids in the schools in your community and felt very strongly about something the school board was debating? (That's not the case with me; it's just a hypothetical.)<hr></blockquote>
I think this falls into a different area; by our rules, I would be permitted to attend and to speak. But then again, I work for a national magazine, so there is no inherent conflict of interest.For those at newspapers, I'd say it's OK for the person to participate, but he should recuse himself from handling any story on that particular issue.

gullyj · **Posted:** Sat Apr 19, 2003 11:10 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Matthew Grieco:
... I believe it's a freedom one voluntarily surrenders for the duration of one's career as a journalist.We're a special sort of profession, and I think it's fair that we're asked to follow certain special rules.
<hr></blockquote>Roman Catholic priests took vows of celibacy because of their special sort of profession and look what's become of them.However, I'm still curious to know why the newspaper management has specified to reporters that they cannot attend anti-war rallies. It seems there's an agenda here.[ April 19, 2003: Message edited by: canuck ]

tommangan · **Posted:** Sat Apr 19, 2003 11:19 am

I think there are times when your personal opinions trump career considerations. I marched (once) against the war because that's how strongly I was opposed to it. It was the first time I had ever done something like that, but it was the first time I ever felt that I had to do it, career be damned. Fortunately I work on the features copy desk so they'd have a hard time saying my views were affecting coverage.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Sat Apr 19, 2003 11:30 pm

Forgive me if this dates me: Don't attend an anti-war rally if you are there to protest a war, but it's OK if you go to meet girls.

catwoman · **Posted:** Tue Apr 22, 2003 2:59 pm

I can't believe this question was even posed or that it was debated in a serious tone. Member #187, that was beautifully said but apparently not forcefully enough.Listen up. This is simple: Stay away from publicly stating your views no matter what your position at a newspaper. Don't sign petitions, stay off the damn school boards. The morons around me who think that they, and only they, can fill that vacancy in their kid's school usually are the ones who feel they must write about those ill-begotten offspring too.Do your job right & you are already serving humanity in one of the finest ways possible. If that's not enough, if you want to become an advocate for something, get a different job. Don't require readers to navigate the nuances of a business that for the most part they grasp in only the broadest terms. I can imagine the thought process for each TV viewer who might see you marching in an anti-war parade, your newspaper ID clipped to your jeans. "OK, Heywood Jablome is on the record as being against the Iraqi invasion, but he works for the books section & that is a whole floor away from either the political or the foreign desk, and I've carefully perused the newspaper's ethics policy & therefore I'm convinced that the Tribustar is providing me unbiased reporting on this issue."But what if readers suspect that a pro-war book didn't get reviewed because they remember you marching down the street like a majorette? And when that school board on which you sit becomes a source of controversy? Aside from the fact that your newspaper will waste valuable space explaining how coverage is unaffected by the fact that you are in the way of the news, you think people will believe there's no bias? How many of your aging relatives still ask at every holiday dinner why they never see your byline in the newspaper? They aren't the only ones who will never get the distinctions between duties at a newspaper. As for Opalooza fest, sure, if you must indulge in unhealthy food & unsafe rides & lackluster entertainment, by all means, gnaw away at that pork rind! But if you can't distinguish between a political rally & a harmless carnival filled with Macedonian puffery, I repeat my plea: Find another line of work.

Matthew Grieco · **Posted:** Tue Apr 22, 2003 8:55 pm

Amen. I hate to say to people, "You shouldn't be a journalist if you can't accept these special rules," but frankly, more of us need to be vocal about that. Like you, I am appalled that some people think there's a gray area here.

ToddJBehme · **Posted:** Tue Apr 22, 2003 8:59 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by catwoman:
I can't believe this question was even posed or that it was debated in a serious tone. Member #187, that was beautifully said but apparently not forcefully enough.Listen up. This is simple: Stay away from publicly stating your views no matter what your position at a newspaper. Don't sign petitions, stay off the damn school boards. <hr></blockquote>Just to be clear, my hypothetical example involved speaking up at a meeting as an attendee, not being a board member.[ April 22, 2003: Message edited by: Todd J. Behme ]

Matthew Grieco · **Posted:** Tue Apr 22, 2003 9:08 pm

Expanding on what I just said...I'm troubled when people say "there are times when your personal opinions trump career considerations." I think that miscasts the problem. It's not a career consideration as much as it's an ethical situation. I doubt my paper would fire me if I went off to some rally once in a very great while, but it doesn't matter -- I just shouldn't be doing it.And if your opinions matter so much, what about those of other journalists who disagree with you? A couple of journalists massing with the crowds on either or both sides do not help their respective pro-cause or anti-cause movements as much as they hurt the respectability of their profession.Here's why I stay out of politics: It's much more important that journalism remain fiercely independent from outside pressures than it is for me to make my own voice heard.When you, as a journalist, march for or against the war, for instance, you only help those who seek to politicize the media's role in times of great national debate. This is a Bad Thing.Perhaps the scariest thing is when I hear journalists justify their activity by saying "I'm an American first and a journalist second."Well, so am I. And as a journalist, being a good American means helping your countrymen see things as truthfully and objectively as possible.I weep for the nation if journalists lose their ability to accept that principle, which I see as so obvious.[ April 22, 2003: Message edited by: Matthew Grieco ][ April 22, 2003: Message edited by: Matthew Grieco ]

catwoman · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2003 1:00 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Todd J. Behme:
Just to be clear, my hypothetical example involved speaking up at a meeting as an attendee, not being a board member.[ April 22, 2003: Message edited by: Todd J. Behme ]<hr></blockquote>all right, maybe this isn't so simple. i sure thought it was, but ONE MORE TIME: stay away from school board meetings if your mouth tends to fly open of its own accord so that opinions can issue forth.spouses too as far as i'm concerned.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2003 2:17 am

Besides, anyone who's ever covered a school board knows that no one who speaks at meetings is taken seriously.

gullyj · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2003 10:37 am

Journalists do not have to take centre stage but there is no need for the kind of live-under-a-rock repression being suggested here.
I prefer to not live my life as a eunich.

KfitzR · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2003 12:21 pm

I'd like to pose a question to those who say journalists should never speak out on issues.
Here's an instance:
You have a house, and next door to it is a bar with a bad record for over service, fencing stolen goods, drug dealing and more. The police visit regularly. Over the bar is a rooming house and its licence is up for review and the neighbourhood wants people to attend the licence review body to state observations and impose some limits on the joint. Geography gives you the best and most intimate knowledge of the place. Do you go to the committee of adjustment and tell the folks the details of the problems in the hope of some personal peace and quiet? Or do you stay quiet and live with whatever happens?

catwoman · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2003 1:19 pm

Here's an idea: Speak out about it, do your little bit, then WRITE ABOUT IT for the newspaper. be sure to involve the kids somehow.

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