Blogging, Journalism, and Ethics

A really awesome piece by Dylan Wagner over at Backhand Shelf about ethics and writing about hockey.  Maybe I found it more interesting than most since I am a blogger and many of you aren't (that I know of).

Blogs are, however, slowly infringing on the hallowed ground of journalism. The advent of the internet is gradually squeezing out print media and forcing it to adapt or die. As time goes by, more and more bloggers will be setting foot into press boxes and locker rooms in arenas around the NHL.

The issue is, journalists have a code of ethics and standards. They also tend to have editors. The blogosphere generally has neither.

To what extent should bloggers be expected to follow those same standards? Without the same editorial oversight of a newspaper, how are bloggers to know when a line has been crossed or more research is needed? It’s an important question to ask: how many of you get your hockey news and opinions from a newspaper and how many get it from hockey blogs? It’s a bit of a biased question, given where you’re reading this, but it’s worth asking nonetheless.

[...]

I think that’s one of the fears of many teams in the NHL: where is the accountability? Who is responsible for content on a blog? If a newspaper reporter says something false about an NHL team, the general manager can call up the newspaper and hold them accountable. After all, more than one person is responsible for an article in a newspaper: there is a team of people involved in most cases, even if it’s a small team.

On a blog, responsibility falls squarely on the blogger, and that’s not a situation that is very comfortable for the NHL. To their credit, the NHL has been remarkably open to bloggers, but has left it up to the individual teams when it comes to giving out media credentials. Some teams have welcomed bloggers into the press box, while others have resisted, but it’s just a matter of time before bloggers with media credentials are more and more common.

As that happens, those bloggers will need to behave ethically and exercise due diligence when researching articles. It is, however, a two-way street to a certain extent. If NHL teams, coaches, GMs, and – yes – agents want bloggers to follow such standards, they need to be open to bloggers contacting them to answer questions as it is necessary in order to act in good faith.  (Backhand Shelf)

There's a couple of things I want to address with this.

1.  I do not want access to the press box or locker room.  This is something I do for fun as a fan, and want to keep it that way.  I do not see myself as a journalist and I don't need immediate post-game quotes and all that.

2.  I believe bloggers (such as myself) do have a duty and an obligation to do research and to know what I'm talking about.  Granted, there certainly are times I don't know what I'm talking about and there's a whole lot of my random opinion.  But I fully understand that if I want to be taken seriously (though not too seriously, the sub-title is Hilariously Inappropriate), I have to know what I'm talking about.

3.  As for accountability, I'm fortunate to follow a nice small-market WHL team.  Wagner's example of a GM calling a newspaper reporter and holding them accountable applies--I've had several talks with Bob about things that have been or will potentially be written.  He wants, as do I, to get the story right.  If I have questions the front office has been more than helpful, as they have also granted me interviewing permission.  I understand that things might be a bit different in the NHL where there is SO much coverage by mainstream media and blogs.

4.  If I make mistakes they are quickly pointed out (by the team or my awesome readers!) and I try to correct as best I can, because that is the right thing to do.

5.  Again, I'm not a reporter, but I do try to hold myself accountable for what I write and publish.
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Speaking of due diligence and accountability, Annie has corrected herself:

In working on the Jordan and Marcus Messier story, I thought I'd done my due diligence in finding other brother pairs who had played together for the Americans. I said there weren't any, but a couple of longtime and loyal fans have told me different.

Jill Williams and Nancy Wogman both let me know that Mike and Mark Hurley, and Dan and Steve O'Rourke also suited up at the same time.

I ran across these guys in my Americans record book that Dan Mulhausen works hard on every year to bring us everything you could want to know. I could have assumed, but then again ...

I went to my favorite hockey site: hockeydb.com to look them up. This site is a gold mine of information on players. In trying to determine brothers, I looked for hometowns, then googled the players to see if I could find a connection. I didn't. This is what I found.

Mark Hurley: Where and when he played, but no personal information.

Matt Hurley: RW, born Nov. 17, 1977. hometown of Sherwood Park, Alberta. 6-1, 180. List of teams where and when he played.

Dan O'Rourke: LW, born Aug. 31, 1972, hometown of Calgary, Alberta. 6-3, 195. Shoots L. List of teams where and when he played.

Steve O'Rourke: Defense, born Sept. 11, 1974, hometown of Summerland, BC. 6-1, 195. Shoots L. List of teams where and when he played. (Red Light District)