The Chron just picked up the week-old story of how the Catholic archbishop kicked three gay clergy members out of an Advent celebration at Most Holy Redeemer Church in the Castro. John Wildermuth did a fine job getting the details, and while I don’t expect him to have the same approach to the story as I did, it would have been nice — and, I think, journalistically appropriate — to give credit to the publication that broke the story, the Bay Area Reporter.
This isn’t a huge deal, but it’s something of an issue in the media these days, and even the old, traditional New York Times, which never used to mention the names of competitors in news stories (unless they were the subject of the story) now makes it a point to note if a story that appears in the Times first appeared somewhere else.
It’s not hard, and it’s standard fare in the blogosphere. Just add a line that says “as the Bay Area Reporter noted Dec. 15….” A quick phrase, eight words, even if it’s buried in the story, and you’ve done your ethical duty.
I’m glad the story’s getting out, and the archdiocese is going to suffer further embarrassment for a stupid move, but Cynthia Laird, the news editor at the B.A.R., got the scoop on this, and now that it’s all over radio and TV, she’s been ignored.
I asked Wildermuth about it, and he had a thoughtful answer:
I don’t feel a need to credit news stories, i.e., pieces reporting on something that happened and that’s public in nature. Different, of course, with features and investigative pieces, which require credit for fairness sake. And if I had used anything from the BAR piece, I certainly would have credited them. For example, I did credit the California Catholic, since I used quotes from their original story, which predated both the local pieces.And actually, we heard about the incident on KQED, not from the BAR.
Anyway, as I’m sure you know, the question of attribution/credit and how/when/where it’s applied is a constantly moving target, particularly at the edges. As someone who has seen my stories grabbed and used without a mention over the years (and experienced the joy of hearing them read, word for word, on local radio stations in days gone by), I’ve got no problem about giving credit and have never had anyone from the Chron complain about giving credit. But my feeling is that news events are public and as long as the new reporting is original, credit isn’t necessary.
But this wasn’t a five-alarm fire or a sports event or a press conference; if Laird hadn’t picked up on the story and pushed it out there, nobody would have known about this. (KQED got it from her.) I realize those of us who are in the alternative press are a little sensitive, since this happens to us all the time, but still: Fair is fair.