The media's job is to serve as a vigilant watchdog for its community by covering stories overlooked by the public. But reporters face everyday challenges to adhere to a professional journalistic code of ethics while also competing against rival news outlets to be the first to break a story. So what happens if a journalist or a media group defies the accepted ethical standards that promote accuracy, objectivity and fairness?
Because the press is so influential, it is expected that someone serve as the media's own watchdog. That is the role of the ombudsman, also known as the Public Editor. An ombudsman's job is to supervise the execution of proper journalism ethics, to identify and examine critical errors or omissions and to act as a liaison to the public.
Last spring semester, the Media Advocacy Board (MAB) at Tufts University announced Tufts' Public Editor Program, one of the first at an undergraduate university in the country. Such a position is vital on a campus with over 20 different media organizations.
However, a problem occurred this week.
At the national level, the ombudsman is typically a paid position. Tufts' Public Editor last year, Jeremy White (LA '09), received a $250 semesterly stipend to fulfill his duties and this year's Public Editor was promised similar compensation. Unfortunately, the MAB inadvertently made an error that left the Public Editor's salary out of its $2,500 budget for the current academic year. As a result, Duncan Pickard, this semester's Public Editor, will not receive any payment for his work.
When MAB Chair Scott Silverman, upon realizing that the Public Editor's salary had not been budgeted for, submitted a request to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate for buffer funding, the motion was denied for one specific reason: The TCU Senate disagrees with the reasoning behind paying the Public Editor.
The Senate believes that since no other student writers get paid to submit to campus publications, neither should the Public Editor. But this comparison is faulty: The role of a writer for a campus publication is wholly incomparable to that of the Public Editor.
The Public Editor has the professional responsibility to keep an eye on every publication, paying attention to articles published and opinions printed and making sure that all media organizations remain true to journalistic integrity. If there is a slip-up, the Public Editor has the obligation of reviewing, analyzing and scrutinizing it. The job is not about simply editorializing on student life and campus happenings; it's about holding media groups accountable and fostering discussion when an organization falters.
That responsibility alone should have been enough reason for the Senate to have buffered the $250 to MAB in order to compensate the Public Editor for his work — which is much more substantial than that of any other student writer. The fact that the Senate made this decision with no regard for precedent is only more disconcerting, as the same body voted to fund the position only one semester ago and the MAB's Web site still advertises the Public Editor position as paid.
TCU Treasurer Aaron Bartel stated that the some senators voted for that funding "more to get [the position] off the ground than for it to be a permanent stipend." But the Senate should recognize that the position is an onerous one that deserves a modest $250 stipend. Many students may very well be willing to serve as the Public Editor for free, but by offering pay, the MAB would solicit applications from the most adept candidates. As Pickard noted, seniors would likely be the most qualified to fill such a position, but without a salary, they would have very little incentive to burden themselves with such a time-consuming extracurricular activity.
The Daily believes the Senate should have recognized these aspects of the Public Editorship before making its final judgment on the matter. In the end, it seems that the Senate — which boasts a budget of $1 million — made a captious and hypercritical decision in choosing not to allocate $250 to fund an important community position.
