THE IMPORTANCE of investigative journalism: Investigative reporting is the single most important task journalists can engage in. Investigative journalists shine their light on matters of importance to the public, despite the unwillingness of those involved to have their roles or actions exposed to public view. The ability to bring matters to the attention of the public is the source of "the power of the press" and the mechanism that not only protects journalism in a free society, but that in part defines a free society. To create a totalitarian regime, one of the first things you need to do is take control of the news media.
Now while regular readers of the Ombudsman column will recognize this "power of the press" rant as part of the ombudsman's stock-in-trade, this does not diminish its power. Unfortunately, college newspapers are rarely able to engage in this type of reporting - whether due to finances, staff turnover (which prevents the development of the kind of long-term relationships that provide "story tips"), a close relationship with the college administration or some other reason.
Fortunately, at the University, The Cavalier Daily often engages in investigative work, despite the risks and difficulty involved. This week, they had a shining example in their coverage of the relationship between the Board of Visitors and the Honor Committee, which is particularly newsworthy as the students prepare to vote on changes to the honor system. The paper highlighted concerns raised by a confidential Honor Committee memo detailing discussions between the Board and the Committee regarding changes to the honor system.
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Setting the story in larger context: Particularly exceptional was the paper's on-going coverage and treatment of the story. After breaking the original story, the paper continued to follow the story, with coverage of the response and reaction of the Board and the Committee. This is an essential element to bringing balanced coverage. Not only did involved parties have a chance to respond, but the response was carried on the front page. All too often, when a "sensational" story breaks, the follow-up is buried on page twelve. The Cavalier Daily shows integrity when it assigns the follow-up story the same high-profile position in the paper. The paper even extended that balance to the Opinion page with Thursday's "University Forum" piece allowing the Honor Committee Chair to comment on the story in a different context. (While the Ombudsman rarely comments on guest editorials, let me note for Mr. Hall that it is my understanding that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has had a student-administered honor system for over a century. Facts worth checking, Mr. Hall, are the key to persuasion.)
It was disappointing, in the breaking story, not to hear from Board member Terence P. Ross, who apparently played a substantial role in the meeting that generated the memo. The Cavalier Daily noted that there were attempts to contact Mr. Ross, but no calls were returned. It was appropriate and important to let readers know that the reporters tried to contact the principal players in the story.
The paper's use of their online presence to provide the actual text of the confidential memo was a nice touch. All too often, papers excerpt sections of important documents and the follow-up coverage quickly bogs down in a set of accusations of misquoting, selective quoting, and other forms of misrepresentation and bias. By presenting the actual document in its entirety, The Cavalier Daily enables readers to decide if the coverage was fair and accurate. To be opened so thoroughly to scrutiny by the public takes guts on the part of the editors and reporters, and they deserve kudos for that.
Ethics and investigative journalism: There are several ethical pitfalls in reporting such stories, and the paper handled them well. To begin, allow me to clear up a point of confusion people often have regarding confidential documents. The duty to maintain confidentiality attaches to the involved parties, and potentially, their counsel. The Cavalier Daily, not a party to the meetings that generated the document, has no such duty. However, from an ethics standpoint, newspapers typically do not publish or reveal every confidential document they receive, but only those that have a strong public interest. Clearly, in the University community, any such document that deals directly with the policy and administration of the honor code is of immense public concern.
Next, the story used an anonymous source to clarify the reference in the document to "Case #19." Anonymous sources are used rarely in journalism, as they are inherently suspect for obvious reasons. Here, the use seems appropriate from a journalistic viewpoint, as there was likely no other way to gather such information. The Cavalier Daily appropriately identified the source as a former Committee member, which helps readers understand the source's reluctance to be named.
It is noteworthy that the ethics of the situation is somewhat complicated by its setting within the University community and under the governance of the honor system. Presumably the anonymous source was on his or her honor not to reveal the confidential aspects of Honor Committee meetings and documents. While this doesn't pose an ethical dilemma for the journalist, who has made no such vow, it does impact the larger issue of whether such actions by former committee members continues to erode public faith in the confidentiality of honor proceedings and the functioning of the Honor Committee. This is an aspect of this story which has yet to be explored, and perhaps some Opinion page commentary is appropriate.
(Brent Garland can be reached at ombud@cavalierdaily.com)
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