I sometimes wonder if I’m just wasting my time at journalism school. We so much talk about ethics in our classes, and then we see these ethics hardly being observed in American mainstream media. I watched 60 Minutes interview with Ahmadinejad on Sunday and I was amazed how unprofessional Pelley acted. Has any journalism professor who teaches at American universities watched that interview?!
We learn that in an interview we should not lead the interviewee to an answer. If the interviewee does not answer our question, we can reword the question, but we are not allowed to force the interviewee to answer in a specific manner. After all, we should respect someone’s right not to answer a question. We should always be polite. We should talk based on facts. We cannot generalize and give comments without having direct and indirect quotes from credible sources. A journalist should not add his own subjective biases to the story. A journalist should let the reader/audience decide.
As much as I dislike Ahmadinejad and am against his policies, I was disgusted by the rude, ill-mannered, and unprofessional behavior of Pelley.
Does any journalism professor actually care how journalism is really practiced in the American mainstream media these days? What should I do with what I learn about ethics of journalism at school on one hand, and the interviewers’ and the “super stars” of cable news networks’ practice of journalism on the other hand? Which one is the right thing to do? If the latter is right, then why do we bother ourselves at school to talk about ethics?
p.s. 1. Again I repeat that I dislike Ahmadinejad greatly and am against many of his policies fundementally. That doesn’t stop me from criticizing the practice of journalism in the US though, specially while I know how journalism schools insist on ethics. Pelley’s work was abhorring last night.
p.s. 2. I have more to say about Ahmadinejad’s remarks (and sometimes big fat lies) both in 60 Minutes and at the University of Columbia. But I should sleep now to get up early and go to the airport.
8 comments
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 4:19 am
nicole
Saw this interview and just wanted to agree. While I loathe Ahmadinejad’s views, I was appalled at Pelley’s questions and his parroting of administration talking points. It was a horrific interview that only served to actually make Ahmadinejad seem decent compared to the interviewer. Just my thoughts.
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Lady Sun: Exactly! Palley’s unprofessional behavior made Ahmadinejad seem like this peace-loving decent man attacked by a biased western journalist. I think if the interviewer really wanted to put pressure on Ahmadinejad and be tough on him, he could simply ask more questions on the issue of human rights in Iran. Then we could see the real face of the man.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 6:45 am
krissnp
interesting points.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 8:30 am
سماع
سلام…
تمام روز هایم بوی دلتنگی میدهد/فقط از خدا باید شعر بخواهم/شعری که در آن “ای کاش” نباشد.
منتظرم.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 at 1:42 pm
David
I didn’t see the 60 Minutes interview. However, I watched an interview of Ahmadinejad by Charlie Rose on PBS two nights ago. I thought Charlie was very polite to Ahmadinejad. In general I have been very impressed with his interviews. Unfortunately, Ahmadinejad was his usual self and never gave a straight answer to anything. Well, there are a lot of American politicians who behave the same way!
I saw some of the Columbia University Q & A. It really seems like Ahmadinejad lives in a fantasy world by some of his remarks!
Tonight, Christian Ammanpour is going to interview Ahmadinejad. I’ll try to watch that and see how it goes.
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Lady Sun: I bet Charlie Rose was polite. The 60 Minutes interview was horrible. You can watch it online or read its transcript on CBS website.
Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 12:30 pm
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Friday, September 28, 2007 at 11:02 pm
David
I saw most of the 60 Minutes interview last night on C-Span. That guy really was rude! Ahmadinejad is far from my favorite person, but he is the President of Iran and should have been treated with more respect. He certainly didn’t have to appear on any interview shows while he was here. I think it was a positive gesture on his part to do so. Now, what can the U.S. do to make a positive gesture in return?
Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at 4:44 am
panthea
Actually there is always a long distance between the theories and the scene of action!!! But I think we must act in accordance with our way of thinking; Being conscious of the real right and wrong helps a lot. Actually it’s not fair to Step on people and disrespect them, no matter in which level or rank they’ve been. If you step on people in this life, you’re going to come back as a cockroach!!!
AT last It’s up to you to decide how to treat people and how to handle an interview…
<>
**We can’t quite decide if the world is growing worse, or if the reporters are just working harder. ~The Houghton Line, November 1965**
You’ve got a nice and helpful blog :)
Best of Luck!
Panthea
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Lady Sun: Thanks Panthea jan for your nice comment.
Monday, November 5, 2007 at 12:25 am
Saeed Yekta
I was watching that interview and was appalled by Pelley’s arrogance/ignorance and unprofessionalism. 60 Minutes is one of the longest running and “top-notch” current affairs shows, then imagine at what level the other shows/news bulletins are faring! I have gathered examples from one of the other longest running shows: Face the Nation in my blog:
http://IranAbroad.org