Loyalty and Journalism

Despite business endeavors, journalists' first loyalty should always be to the citizen

"If it comes down to a question of loyalty, my loyalty will be to the person who turns on the television set"
-Nick Clooney, former newscaster


Being loyal to readers is so important. Through loyalty, we as journalists create a relationship with our readers. This relationship is what keeps consumers consuming our product. (Note: Citizens aren't customers...they are consumers. Why the distinction? Because the news is provided free to the public and is often "sold" at a loss).

Loyalty also builds trust. We all know that newspapers are not faring well in today's economic climate. There are many who criticize the downsizing of news staff with the argument that it is not overworked and thinly stretched reporters that are going to pull the newspaper industry back together to once again become a profitable medium. Alicia Shepard of NPR says "it will be the trusted news sources that endure."

Sam Zell's loyalty certainly doesn't lie with his readers. His unprofessional, to put it lightly, behavior has not only failed to produce profit as promised, but has also alienated both consumers and employees. Just check out the Tribune Handbook, especially page four's Harassment Policy.
The disputed advertising tactics of The Los Angeles Times are also, frankly, unethical.
How can Zell possibly expect to produce a winning newspaper with such a lack of loyalty to all things journalists hold dear?

Let's examine this further.

In class we talked about The Wall.
Namely, that
1. The owner must be committed to the citizen first
Zell is clearly only committed to his former radio cronies.
2. The owner should hire business managers who also put citizens first
Zell and Randy Michaels (Zell's numero uno) got to work right off the bat with "installing in major positions more than 20 former associates from the radio business — people [Zell] knew from his time running Jacor and Clear Channel — a practice that came to be known as “friends and family” at the company." That's a recipe for success right there. He's turned The Tribune Co. into a "frat house" so says the NYT.
3. They should set and communicate clear standards with the company
Ok, Zell did manage to get this one right. His Handbook made his standards pretty clear.
Journalists have final say over the news
The Chicago Tribune Blagojevich debacle AND the Universal Studios advertising faux pas (in similitude with the Disney ad) clearly state to readers that journalists and journalism are not at the head of the food chain, but rather money is.
5. Communicate clear standards to the public
I pretty much laid this one out in number 4 as well

The Wall simply does not exist in Sam Zell's world. No wonder his company is bankrupt. He has annihilated the fundamental principles of journalistic success.