With that being said, Neal Boortz, a super conservative radio talk show host, tore her article TO PIECES. And to Villareal's dismay, he harped on that one, unclear statement. She was emotionally scared because of all the mean things he said about her personally - a measly student just doing what she was told to receive an A in the class. Side note: he didn't really argue against her, he just bashed her for who he perceived her to be.
So none of this in unethical so far (except the lack of judgment on Boortz's part). The ethics aspect really comes in to play now. The Red and Black got so much hate mail that they decided to put a disclaimer in the Opinion Meter, and this is what it said:
NEAL BOORTZ COVERS OPINIONS
Who knew the Talkmaster reads The Red & Black? Radio host Neal Boortz criticized a column by Crystal Villarreal during Thursday’s broadcast — and we think that’s pretty cool, regardless of the differing personal political philosophies of the editorial board. Finally, a note to the listeners who called and e-mailed letters of support or criticism regarding the column: Villarreal is not on our staff. Please direct all angry correspondence to her.
So just because you're not on staff with a newspaper, and they don't necessarily agree with your content, means they're going to leave you hanging out to dry on your own? I dont' see how this is ethical. If a publisher thought there was enough valuable content in the article to publish it, they should at least stand by it on the grounds that it's a contributing journalistic piece. The nature of editorial writing is often times controversial. And creating a sound argument either for or against a cause, is a feat in and of itself. I understand she was not on staff, but to throw her under the bus like that was definitely uncalled for.
I think the Red and Black should've said something along the lines of "thank you Villareal for sparking conversation, across generations, about an important topic (because that's what journalism is for!)"
I think the Red and Black should've said something along the lines of "thank you Villareal for sparking conversation, across generations, about an important topic (because that's what journalism is for!)"
I do agree that the Red and Black should back every story that they CHOOSE to publish in any of their issues, regardless of the author. However, if the person who wrote the article was worried about a certain sentence in the article, then he/she should have either removed it or just not submitted it to be published. Whenever something one writes is published, the author needs to be prepared to take all forms of potential criticism and hatred that may come from a particular story. If he/she is not ready for that, then just write for pleasure and hang your writing on your refrigerator, don't publish it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Holly here. It doesn't seem like it was in the best interest of the writer or the newspaper to publish this kind of statement about the article. If this was an editorial piece, than the writer has the right to say what she wants and the newspaper has a right to decide if they want to publish it. By choosing the publish this article, the Red & Black should take some responsibility for the backlash. It shouldn't matter if they were on staff or not, especially since so much of the articles in print media today are written by freelancers. You should take responsibility for your actions as well.
ReplyDeleteI was in Professor Fink's Newspaper Management class when Villareal published the article in The Red and Black. He was absolutely outraged at the way Boortz tore her character into pieces, but he was even more dismayed at The Red and Black's reaction to the controversy. Fink's been in the newspaper industry for 50+ years, and when he has a strong opinion about a newspaper's actions, journalism students have to listen. The editorial board was completely disrespectful. They pushed the controversy onto her completely, even though they published her article. Moreover, they brushed aside a member of the UGA community, a community to which they reach out and seek on a daily basis. It was completely unethical to throw her under the bus.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this one, Holly, and if I had been a part of the discussion on how to handle the situation, I would have been in the minority saying not to push the controversy on Villarreal. There was very little benefit to come of the move for the The R&B. Sure, the opinions stated were her own. But anyone who has written a column up there knows that it passes through numerous editors (all of whom missed her unfortunate sentence).
ReplyDeletePlus, to back down to a talking head like Neal Boortz is even worse. It was a perfect situation to stand up for the publication, and the paper fell short.