Senator D'Amato Comments on your "Media Bill of Rights"

A primer on the FMC s Bill of Rights

By Alfonse D'Amato

The Fair Media Council posted a Media Bill of Rights on its blog recently, and it requires reprinting in good old-fashioned ink. In the interest of complete accuracy, it s really not about the media s rights, which are pretty much covered under the First Amendement. Rather, it s about your rights in a 24/7 Information Age where the news cycle is faster than a spinning press secretary and the institutional memory of a journalist is based on how many weeks he is out of school.

The council s Jaci Clements posted this Bill of Rights, which among other things notes that you have a right to a variety of media voices in your market, which serve to provide an array of news and information. News should not all look the same, nor use only the same sources and viewpoints.

(That s true, but it is very much a function of economics. Some markets in New York State have just one paper, and if you don t like their editorials or political position, tough on you. When it comes to local news and local editorials, the editorial content of a Web site such as MSNBC.com isn t coming to your rescue " they intend to reach tens of millions and aren t going to be looking at your town council race.)

You have a responsibility to speak out when you hear or read news that is inaccurate or limited in scope.

(Also true, but up until the Web site arrived all you could do was hope the local editor would publish your letter to the editor. And if they did, they would do it once every six months. Now there are entire sites and daily bloggers devoted to monitoring just one newspaper. Newsday has felt that kind of sting often, usually from its own reporters, usually unhappy about something in the newsroom.)

You have a right to grant an interview or to decline an interview with the media.

(Trust me on this. From personal experience, I know if you decline an interview opportunity with a reporter, he or she will look to carve out a piece of your hide while hiding behind the phrase declined to comment. Decline and it s a calculated decision where you want the flesh wound.)

You have a right to an interview that allows you to share your knowledge. Reporters who cut you off or don t want to hear what you have to say for fear it will blow their story s premise aren t playing fair.

(This goes to the heart and soul of journalism today. Many articles are written by reporters who have already staked out what the story will say before they pick up the phone to confirm it with facts, quotes and attributions. You are asked to come along for the ride, and if your facts don t coincide with their predetermined prejudice, it ll be a bumpy one. That sense of outrage over journalism entitlement has probably led to more blog sites than anything else.)

You have a right to prepare for interviews not done on immediate deadline. It s within your right to know the reason a reporter wants an interview. (You do not have a right to the questions in advance.)

(I love this right but it has been ignored, trampled and mocked by more reporters than there are commas in a printer s linotype machine. It has long been standard strategy for many journalists to wait until the last minute and then ask for a detailed response to a lengthy accusation. When the poor target of the day can t produce the documentation in time, the reporter dramatically reveals on camera that they failed to respond. The offending print reporter will say their deadline is in 50 minutes and use the same ruse since a detailed, thorough and accurate response would not help get the story in the paper.)

You have a right to freedom of speech, just as the news media has a right to freedom of the press. Both you and the media have a responsibility to maintain freedom of speech and the press by providing accurate information to the public.

(In an era when traditional media is trying to figure out how best to keep its head along with a measure of profits, these media rights and responsibilities are being turned inside out.)


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