By: Scott C. Paine, Ph.D
A positive encounter with the press
When reporters get together, they frequently joke about the public officials with whom they have had dealings. The focus of the conversations frequently is on the politicians’ personal peculiarities, limited intelligence, lack of virtue and other cherished popular images of politicians. For reporters, however, they aren’t just playing to the stereotypes. If one has been covering government and politics for any length of time, one has more than a couple of truthful anecdotes of this sort to share.
When public officials get together, they frequently joke about reporters, editors, news directors and publishers with whom they have had dealings. The focus of the conversations frequently is on journalists’political agendas and personal vendettas, their inability to get a story right, and their penchant for quoting or airing the one awkward or stupid thing said in a 10 minute interview, rather than the many intelligent and thoughtful observations made in the other nine minutes and 52 seconds. These stories also play to stereotypes of “bad” journalists, but the public officials aren’t simply repeating the stereotypic line. If one has been in office for a year or more, one almost certainly has more than a couple of truthful anecdotes of this sort to share.
The rest of the story, however, is that as much as both sides like to complain, a lot can be accomplished when journalists and public officials are willing to listen to each other, to think outside of their own particular box, and to give credit where credit is due.
I had a conversation with a reporter on Thursday that reminded me of this more positive point.
The subject of my conversation with the reporter was conflict of interest. The specifics aren’t important, and they aren’t the reason I’m writing this blog. I’m writing because the reporter was willing to hear me when I made what I always consider a pair of critical points about Florida ethics law regarding voting conflicts.
Point 1: There are many things you and I might consider conflicts of interest that are not conflicts of interest under the law.
Point 2: Unless a local elected official has a conflict of interest as defined by the (narrow) terms of Florida statute, he/she is obligated to cast a vote.
In practice, this pair of realities has placed many of Florida’s local elected officials in the awkward position of voting on matters before their board where they, and many in the audience, felt they had an ethical conflict of interest, but the law said they did not. Being dutiful public servants, these officials have cast their votes…and frequently been skewered in the press for doing so.
The reporter in my conversation Thursday heard me and understood the importance of these legal and political realities. His appreciation of the difficult position a city councilmember might be in was evident. If he retains that appreciation, the resulting story will be a more balanced assessment of the events and of the individuals involved.
I must confess that I have not always come away from similar interviews with a similarly positive feeling. But this time, I was reminded that neither public officials nor journalists have to live up to their worst stereotypes. And in this case, it seems clear that at least one journalist will not.
This is a guest post by Scott C. Paine, Ph.D, who blogs for The Florida League of Cities Newsroom. He is associate professor of communication/government and world affairs at the University of Tampa. The father of 10 children, he is a former city councilman of the City of Tampa. To reach Scott or make a comment about his blog, write to spaine@ut.edu.