OPUBCO / Oklahoman Business Practices

[Pete]

Brianna Bailey has left the Oklahoman for the Tulsa-based non-profit The Frontier.

Very strange.

[stjohn]

Good for her. Funny how good some of the individual reporters are at the Oklahoman, but how miserably out of touch the editorial board is.

[dankrutka]

Good for her. Funny how good some of the individual reporters are at the Oklahoman, but how miserably out of touch the editorial board is.

Yep. Ben Felder's work on education has been the best I've seen in the state. Really hope he stays around. Oklahoma education needs good reporters.

[stjohn]

100%. Felder is exactly the other reporter I had in mind.

[Pete]

Ben recently announced on social media he would be heading up a 3-person investigative team and that one of their focuses would remain education.

He has also used social media to openly criticize the Oklahoman's editorial board.

[BoulderSooner]

Ben recently announced on social media he would be heading up a 3-person investigative team and that one of their focuses would remain education.

He has also used social media to openly criticize the Oklahoman's editorial board.

Of course you have to wonder how neutral and unbiased his investigations will be when he is pretty open with his liberal views. I do miss the days when investigative reporters just stuck to the facts and not their personal biases

[Pete]

Of course you have to wonder how neutral and unbiased his investigations will be when he is pretty open with his liberal views. I do miss the days when investigative reporters just stuck to the facts and not their personal biases

Like the rest of the Oklahoman reporters??

[catcherinthewry]

Like the rest of the Oklahoman reporters??

Lackmeyer is one of the worst offenders. He injects his opinion so much that I feel some of his articles belong on the op/ed page. He should reports the facts and save his opinion for his blog posts.

[BoulderSooner]

Exactly it is a large problem everywhere and has been for some time. I really don’t want my news slanted either way.

[CloudDeckMedia]

I've seen too many interviews of young journalists who, when asked why they entered the field, responded, "Because I want to make a difference in the world."

Like Boulder, I want news straight up, accurate and complete, preferably proofed by an editor before distribution. Just tell me what happened at city hall, the state capitol, in court, and on the police blotter (if its of substance).

[onthestrip]

I've seen too many interviews of young journalists who, when asked why they entered the field, responded, "Because I want to make a difference in the world."

Like Boulder, I want news straight up, accurate and complete, preferably proofed by an editor before distribution. Just tell me what happened at city hall, the state capitol, in court, and on the police blotter (if its of substance).

I for one want some journalists to make a difference. I want there to be aspiring people who want to uncover injustice and corruption. Not sure why there can’t be journalists that do that.

[Pete]

I for one want some journalists to make a difference. I want there to be aspiring people who want to uncover injustice and corruption. Not sure why there can’t be journalists that do that.

You have to have a reason to write a story, dig into something, etc. That is, unless you just want to sit around and field and re-write press releases.

The key is being fair even though you are pursuing a certain angle. For all the bashing that national media has been receiving, the huge majority is just people lot liking what is being reported. I've worked with both Bloomberg and Reuters and there were tons of things their editors cut simple due to the fact that we had to be able to 100% back up everything we wrote.

The issue is what those big enterprises choose to cover. But when they cover something, they are very buttoned down which is why you almost never see them being successfully sued. And that is generally the standard: Could you defend your reporting in a court of law?

It's also why few lawsuits are even attempted because the accusing party is just posturing and knows darn well they don't have a case. And if push came to shove, the reporter would be able to verify everything they had written and get to go into more detail and rehash in a public court.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^
As Pete knows I restrain myself from getting involved in this conversation - because I consider both Pete and Steve friends - but it absolutely must be pointed out here that Steve is a business COLUMNIST. He is paid to give opinion, and to have it appear on the business page. This is standard practice at newspapers all over the country. When it is a column, when he writes in first person, etc., it is SUPPOSED to be the opinion of someone who has covered downtown for years, just like when Berry Trammel writes columns appearing in the sports section, based on his own experiences in sports journalism. When Steve is writing a column it is supposed to be labeled "OKC Central," which is the branding of both his column and of his blog.

When he writes an ARTICLE, it is ostensibly devoid of opinion, and if you pay attention to which is which, you can see the differences between his columns and his news reporting. Whether he always succeeds is of course debatable, but as has been pointed out, opinion has been leaking into journalism in general, which is unfortunate. I do believe that he tries in this regard. I think it is also fair to say that at times The Oklahoman does a poor job of making it clear that his column is an opinion piece. But again, for the record, he is 100% expected to render opinion in his columns. It is the entire point.

[catcherinthewry]

Steve is a business COLUMNIST. He is paid to give opinion, and to have it appear on the business page. This is standard practice at newspapers all over the country. When it is a column, when he writes in first person, etc., it is SUPPOSED to be the opinion of someone who has covered downtown for years, just like when Berry Trammel writes columns appearing in the sports section, based on his own experiences in sports journalism. When Steve is writing a column it is supposed to be labeled "OKC Central," which is the branding of both his column and of his blog.

Thanks for pointing that out. I had never noticed that before and I'm sure I'm not alone in knowing that OKC Central signifies a column. In fact, I had never even noticed that he writes under that from time to time. As for Tramel, whenever he writes there is a sub-header that says "Commentary".

I also thought it was interesting that today when Steve wrote under OKC Central today about Villa Teresa he didn't seem to inject any opinion.

[Pete]

Thanks for pointing that out. I had never noticed that before and I'm sure I'm not alone in knowing that OKC Central signifies a column. In fact, I had never even noticed that he writes under that from time to time. As for Tramel, whenever he writes there is a sub-header that says "Commentary".

I also thought it was interesting that today when Steve wrote under OKC Central today about Villa Teresa he didn't seem to inject any opinion.

All of his work goes under OKC Central -- reporting, opinion, etc. That does not signify column or pure opinion.

Similarly, his Twitter account is under OKC Central and that is pure opinion and all kinds of absolute craziness. And no where does it say "these opinions are my own". That the Oklahoman allows that -- just like they allowed Brianna Bailey to post f* and s* bombs all over the place -- says much about their editors and general lack of control.

I get it's a new era and you want to encourage your writers to reach people on social platforms, but when you are using a company's name to do that, you'd think someone would care that you say f* over and over again. But not the Oklahoman.

I realize Lackmeyer has both the designation of columnist and reporter but 1) that's bad journalistic practice; 2) to the extent others do it, they generally do it for small, unprofessional publications and/or very infrequently; 3) even at the Oklahoman few do both and it's always clear which is which; and 4) he frequently mixes both reporting and opinion.

I will also restate my point this is NOT a common practice even at the Oklahoman.

[catcherinthewry]

All of his work goes under OKC Central -- reporting, opinion, etc. That does not signify column or pure opinion

That may be true online, but in the physical paper under his byline it normally just says Business Writer. Today was the only time in the last two weeks that his story was under OKC Central.

[Pete]

^

Having the same person attempt to be both a columnist and reporter represents bad journalistic practice, especially one that does both virtually every week.

This comes from an authority on journalism ethics I recently interviewed.

[Jim Kyle]

This comes from an authority on journalism ethics I recently interviewed.

Gotta make a point here, Pete. No such authority exists, because no genuine code of ethics for journalism exists. That point was brought out to me quite forcefully many years ago by H. H. Herbert, founder of the OU J-School, who taught a required course of 'Ethics in Journalism" at OU. The only facsimile for such is the personal ethical code of the individual journalist, which can be and is regularly overridden by the policies of the employers. This has driven many if not most of the traditional ethical practices into the dustbin of history. This city has never, in its 120 years of existence, enjoyed a truly ethical press with any real power.

[Pete]

Gotta make a point here, Pete. No such authority exists, because no genuine code of ethics for journalism exists. That point was brought out to me quite forcefully many years ago by H. H. Herbert, founder of the OU J-School, who taught a required course of 'Ethics in Journalism" at OU. The only facsimile for such is the personal ethical code of the individual journalist, which can be and is regularly overridden by the policies of the employers. This has driven many if not most of the traditional ethical practices into the dustbin of history. This city has never, in its 120 years of existence, enjoyed a truly ethical press with any real power.

I interviewed a professor in Florida who teaches a course on journalistic ethics and who was referred to me by reporters at Reuters.

There is also a formal ethics committee at the Society of Professional Journalists (I am a member) and I've talked to them extensively on these subjects and they have also shared written standards from Reuters, Bloomberg and other respected publications.

At some point I will write more about all this, but wanted to underscore I am not merely expressing my opinion but citing the best sources I could find.

[Jim Kyle]

And I must hasten to add that you, Pete, regularly display the high standard of "journalistic ethics" that I had expected to be universal before I became immersed in the industry and saw the lack of same up close and personal. I regularly come here to find out what is really happening in OKC, and only wish that a similarly ethocal site existed to keep me posted on the national and international scene!

Also note that I became a member of Sigma Delta Chi while still in J-School, and its evolution into the SPJ took place long after practices at NW 4 and Broadway had driven me out of the "working press." Even then, it had a written code that we were expected to follow, but unlike Law, Medicine, and Engineering, there was no code with legal enforcement -- and thanks to the First Amendment, no such powerful code can be created in this nation (for which I am grateful).

What's needed is increased accountability on the part of the owners, but that's been steadily diminishing for longer than either of us has been alive.

[Urbanized]

But of course it happens in many, many publications and has for many, many years. And also to some extent it is probably happening more due to the generally struggling daily newspaper business model and all of the staff cuts resulting from this. Having someone on staff who ONLY writes columns on things like sports or business is a luxury these days.

And with that, I'm bowing out of this discussion. Just wanted to point out that he is in fact a columnist, not only a reporter.

[Pete]

But of course it happens in many, many publications and has for many, many years. And also to some extent it is probably happening more due to the generally struggling daily newspaper business model and all of the staff cuts resulting from this.

I don't think it happens in this way -- virtually every single week without no discernible identification between reporting and opinion -- nearly as often as you are suggesting. In fact, I challenge you to produce another such example.

The Oklahoman has hired at least 10 new business writers in just the last couple of years, still employs about 500 people, and this particular writer has been continuously employed by this organization for more than 3 decades.

I don't accept the 'struggling' excuse, especially when you are owned by one of the world's richest men.

[Urbanized]

Like I said, I am not going to participate further. Only pointing out that he is a columnist for those who do not seem to know this. People are free to research this topic and draw their own conclusions; I'm not going to be drawn further into this particular echo chamber - and honestly immediately regretting getting involved at all - because no matter what I might bring to this topic it would be a no-win in this forum.

[stjohn]

^^^^^^^
As Pete knows I restrain myself from getting involved in this conversation - because I consider both Pete and Steve friends - but it absolutely must be pointed out here that Steve is a business COLUMNIST. He is paid to give opinion, and to have it appear on the business page. This is standard practice at newspapers all over the country. When it is a column, when he writes in first person, etc., it is SUPPOSED to be the opinion of someone who has covered downtown for years, just like when Berry Trammel writes columns appearing in the sports section, based on his own experiences in sports journalism. When Steve is writing a column it is supposed to be labeled "OKC Central," which is the branding of both his column and of his blog.

When he writes an ARTICLE, it is ostensibly devoid of opinion, and if you pay attention to which is which, you can see the differences between his columns and his news reporting. Whether he always succeeds is of course debatable, but as has been pointed out, opinion has been leaking into journalism in general, which is unfortunate. I do believe that he tries in this regard. I think it is also fair to say that at times The Oklahoman does a poor job of making it clear that his column is an opinion piece. But again, for the record, he is 100% expected to render opinion in his columns. It is the entire point.

Steve absolutely, 100% DOES NOT remove his opinion from his articles. In a position with the level of influence such as his, that has always been one of my bigger issues with his reporting.

[Pete]

I think it's an important discussion for the betterment of Oklahoma journalism and in turn the OKC community. I have done my best to get objective viewpoints from experts and try and hold myself accountable and raise the bar locally when it comes to proper and best journalistic practices.

l will add that you have repeatedly defended this particular writer on this forum yet I have never seen you do the same when that same person has used his loud megaphone provided by his powerful employer to trash this site, me personally and directly lift our content without providing due credit.

That's your prerogative but you're involvement in all of this has been in no way objective or equal.