Journalists should fight to report stories that are important to the public rather than stories that will get good ratings, a PBS correspondent told about 80 people Monday in the McCormick Tribune Center Forum.
Maria Hinojosa, senior correspondent for the “NOW” newsmagazine, talked about a number of disparate issues relating to the media, including government secrecy and the need for more aggressive journalism. Her speech was part of Medill’s Crain Lecture Series.
Hinojosa, an anchor for National Public Radio’s “Latino USA,” said journalism has become a business rather than a service to the public.
“How much has journalism been affected by the fact that it is a money-making company?” Hinojosa said. “Suddenly news entities are not independent, and they are thinking more about bringing in viewers. That was one of the reasons I left CNN.”
Hinojosa said she was disappointed editorial decisions were geared towards ratings rather than what the audience needed to know. She encouraged young journalists to pursue the stories they feel are important.
“You have to be strong and have elders and mentors because you are going to need lots of support,” Hinojosa said. “You will face disappointments and will have to pick your battles. You have to fight for the stories that matter.”
Hinojosa said she was able to do more in-depth stories on public television.
“There is not a lot of fact-checking going on at other networks where I have worked,” she said. “It may have something to do with investigative reporting or the fact that we have five weeks to produce a 20-minute piece.”
The Bush administration has been hostile to inquisitive reporters, Hinojosa said. She suggested news outlets should have embedded and “unembedded” reporters in the White House. The unembedded reporters would be responsible for asking the tough questions so beat reporters would not lose their jobs.
She described how, as a new reporter in Washington, D.C., she pressed White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan after he did not respond adequately to her inquiry about the Valerie Plame case.
“I asked, ‘Scott McClellan, do you appreciate having reporters who hold your feet over the fire or having a reporter who is appreciative of anything they get from you?'” she said.
The White House has often been unwilling to offer information to the public, Hinojosa said, citing as an example this weekend’s incident in which Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fellow hunter.
“In the course of the time (between the shooting and when McClellan told the press about it), the administration made the decision to let a private citizen call a newspaper and report it,” she said.
Hinojosa said gathering many perspectives on contentious issues helps her better serve her audience.
“I feel good about what I am doing,” she said. “I have done the most I can to educate you guys.”
But she noted aggressive reporters sometimes place themselves in dangerous situations. Foreign journalists in Iraq have been kidnapped, and she spoke about a journalist in Mexico who was killed after writing about drug traffickers.
After the speech Medill freshman Ryan Reeh said journalists should be aware of the danger of investigative reporting and that Hinojosa’s story was discouraging.
“Anybody who wants to be a journalist should recognize that it could be their life on the line,” he said.
Reach Ketul Patel at [email protected].
