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Dear Delegates, Welcome to Press Corps! We’re so excited to have you as part of YMUN XL team. For the next four days, you’ll be here at Yale, immersed in the dynamic world of breaking news journalism. We expect you to be writers, investigators, interrogators and quick thinkers as we simulate work at two of the world’s most respected newspapers. Journalism is part of the tradition here at Yale, as seen by the rich environment of student publications including The Yale Daily News, The Yale Herald, The New Journal and a variety of other student-run magazines and outlets. As your committee leaders, Jared, Cynthia and Natasha have all written for student publications and we’re excited to share our passion for journalism with you during this conference. Natasha spent this past year on the editorial board of the Yale Daily News as the Culture Editor, producing a weekly arts spread and managing a team of reporters. Previously, she served as the paper’s architecture reporter, covering Yale’s School of Architecture and campus construction. She’s helped run YMUN committees, including Press Corps, for the past two years, and is excited to work with you all at this year’s conference! Cynthia is finishing up a year as the Student Affairs beat reporter at the Yale Daily News, where she covered topics such as student organizations, diversity, cultural houses and social life policies. While writing for the paper, she has gotten to attend a variety of major events including anniversary dinners of many Yale student groups - even once flying out to Los Angeles to attend a Yale in Hollywood conference. In addition to hard news reporting, she also enjoys creative writing and is a member of the Yale Literary Magazine. Jared has been involved in layout and design for many years. As a Yale Media Tech, he is trained in Photoshop, video editing, and other programs. Last year, Jared also staffed Press Corps, introducing new responsibilities to the committee like managing a Twitter. He is excited for this year’s conference and the crisis to come. During the conference, you will report on a dynamic range of events — disease outbreaks, policy changes, political elections — in order to produce a daily paper with the news of the day. Each reporter will betasked with hunting down stories, interviewing sources, producing pieces under deadline and managing online content. The newsrooms of Press Corps are fast-paced, constantly changing learning opportunities. We hope you will take advantage of your time here not only to enjoy the immersive experience but also to ask us about our experiences reporting, editing and writing. With that said, we look forward to your questions. See you soon! Cynthia Hua, Jared Katzman, and Natasha Thondavadi
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TABLE OF CONTENTS History of the Wall Street Journal History of the New York Times Current Situation Role of the Committee Structure of the Committee The Basics of Reporting Reporting Structure Suggestions for Further Research "##$%#$&'! ! ! ! !
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History of the Wall Street Journal ! The Wall Street Journal traces its beginnings back to Dow Jones & Company. Founded in 1874 by three reporters – Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser – the company quickly made a name for itself as one of the nation’s first reliable sources of business and financial news. After just fifteen years in the business, Jones decided to convert the company’s afternoon newsletter into the significantly largerscale Journal.[i] The paper soon began to influence the nation’s perception of the economic climate, especially in regards to the stock market. Charles Dow created one of the world’s first stock indexes in 1896 – the Jones “Average,” which measured the financial health and overall growth of the New York Stock Exchange – and immediately made it a fixture of the paper. The index and paper functioned as complements, with the growing prominence of each bringing the other even more repute[ii]. The index – which at the time of its creation took the performances of only 12 corporations into account – has since been broken up into various subgroups and fields. Clarence Barron, who is often remembered as the father of modern financial journalism, purchased Dow Jones & Company in 1902. At the time, Barron had already made a name for himself in the journalism world as the financial editor of the Boston Transcript and the founder of the Boston News Bureau and Philadelphia News Bureau[iii]. He had also served as the president of Doremus & Company, a financial advertising firm, and in doing so, had gained an extensive knowledge of finance from an internal standpoint. Barron put this knowledge to use in devoting the Journal to the close examination of
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Wall St. and the financial accounting of American corporations. Known increasingly as a muckraker in 1913 he uncovered a scandal surrounding the New Haven Railroad and later gained fame for exposing financial schemer Charles Ponzi – Barron felt the Journal ought to hold Wall St. to a high ethical standard. In his book My Creed, he explained what he felt the purpose of financial reporting to be: Wall Street steadily improves and increases its service to the whole country by reflecting the true position of American and world investments. The Wall Street Journal must stand for the best that is in Wall Street and reflect that which is best in United States finance. Its motto is: ‘The Truth in its proper use.’ Barron’s descendants, the powerful Bancroft family, would continue to control the Journal until 2007, when the family sold the paper to Rupert Murdoch[iv]. By 1920 – under Barron’s ownership – circulation had climbed to 50,000, over five times what it had been just twenty years before. The Modern Journal: The traditional layout and content of the Journal date back to the tenure of Bernard Kilgore, who began his 25-year career leading the paper in 1941, the beginning of a post-Depression renaissance for the financial world. Kilgore was a strong advocate for distributing the paper nationally and focusing on content relevant to those outside the New York metropolitan area[v]. This strategy began the differentiation between the Journal and the New York Times that contributes to their modern categorizations as respectively national and metropolitan papers. The paper’s
PRESS CORPS 6 circulation rose from 33,000 from the beginning of Kilgore’s time at the paper to over one million by his death. Kilgore was also responsible for the Journal’s easily recognizable front-page layout. He designed the “What’s News” section that heads the left side of the cover and came up with many of the design principles that remain part of the paper’s legacy. Kilgore’s front page lived relatively unchanged until 2006, when the introduction of advertising to a greater portion of the paper, including the cover, forced slight design shifts and the repositioning of sections[vi]. The Journal gained its reputation for influential editorial writing during the 40s and 50s. The paper won two Pulitzer Prizes for its editorial pages during that time and had already began to establish itself as a proponent of conservative ideals, especially in regards to individual freedom. William H. Grimes explained this philosophy in 1951: On our editorial page we make no pretense of walking down the middle of the road. Our comments and interpretations are made from a definite point of view. We believe in the individual, in his wisdom and his decency. We oppose all infringements on individual rights, whether they stem from attempts at private monopoly, labor union monopoly or from an overgrowing government. People will say we are conservative or even reactionary. We are not much interested in labels but if we were to choose one, we would say we are radical. Just as radical as the Christian doctrine.
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The paper is still thought of as more conservative than the news media at large, a view that has only been emphasized since Rupert Murdoch gained control[vii]. Though Murdoch’s News Corp. is also the owner of conservative outlets such as the Fox News Channel, the terms of the merger between the Journal and News Corp. specified that the political affiliations of the Journal’s new parent company would not have an impact on the paper’s editorial pages or news coverage. Moreover, while studies of news media bias have indicated that the news reporting of the Journal tends to be relatively unbiased or even liberal, the validity of such studies has often been questioned. The editorial page, nevertheless, has tended to espouse fiscally conservative ideas and is a strong advocate of free market economics. The Journal Online: While the Journal tended to remain relatively fiscally stable for most of its life, it began to decline during the 1990s, begging the question of the paper’s future. As other publications in the United States began to fail due to the overall decline of print media, the Journal began to look to online expansion as a solution. The company accordingly launched the Wall Street Journal Online in 1996 and has since generated considerable revenue from the site, with online subscriptions costing over a hundred dollars per year. In 2004, the company introduced a mobile phone application to keep up with the everexpanding access to information on-the-go.
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Since then, the Journal’s online presence has expanded dramatically, incorporating a broad range of online-exclusive written content in addition to multimedia elements. While the paper has not expanded as fully as the Times has into documentary and broadcast forms of journalism, it makes significant use of online interactive design elements. The papers’ well-known reporters and columnists have developed individual online presences through blogs and social media handles, and short blurb content (e.g. Wall Street Journal House of the Day) helps drive visitors to the webpage. Most notably, the paper has used its online presence to compete more effectively in the section it is best known for—financial news journalism—with live updates on par with services like the Bloomberg Newswire. Current Demographics[viii]: Over the past decade, the average readers of the Wall Street Journal have tended to hold whitecollar jobs and are often in management roles. Their household incomes are typically above $200,000, and they are often middle-aged or older. Most have college degrees. These statistics contribute to the paper’s focus on a corporateaudience, with current events often analyzed in terms of their effects on the economy. The paper also caters to the high educational standards of its audience by using more advanced language than many other media outlets and assuming a greater knowledge of basic financial terms. Try comparing coverage of the same story in the Journal and your local newspaper, for example, and observe the word choice used to convey certain ideas. Which story takes you longer to read?
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History of the New York Times ! First published on September 18, 1851 as the New-York Daily Times, the New York Times is one of the most well respected and widely read newspapers in the world. While the Times is the third most circulated newspaper in the United States, it nevertheless holds the title for the largest circulation of a metropolitan paper and has received 108 Pulitzer prizes over its long history[i]. The men who founded the paper had well-known political affiliations. Henry Jarvis Raymond was a Whig and eventual chairman of the Republican National Committee, and George Jones was a banker who would later become known for his brave treatment of political corruption in New York City[ii]. Accordingly, the creation of the paper was surrounded by speculation and suspicion of its purpose and objectivity. The first edition of the paper, sold at one cent, sought to address these claims through a mission statement promising both conservatism and radicalism when appropriate and the black-and-white treatment of no issue.
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As promised, it was not long before the Times began to cover controversial issues. One of the first notable subjects of debate within the paper’s pages was the Mortara Affair, an incident in which a Jewish child was forcibly taken from his parents by the Papal States[iii]. The Times published over twenty editorials debating the issue, which sparked international controversy over papal jurisdiction. Less than a decade after its first issue, the paper had already begun to emerge as a national – even global – trendsetter in the arena of political debate[iv]. The paper’s influence over political matters only increased as the century came to a close. In its coverage of various events and elections, the Times began to waffle between positions of political neutrality and outright support for certain parties or candidates. In the 1970s, when the paper still showed broad support for the Republican party, it published content exposing the corruption behind the Democratic party’s Tammany Hall resulting in downfall of the infamous Boss Tweed. Just a decade
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later, the paper declared independence from party affiliation, only to support Democratic presidential candidate Grover Cleveland in 1884[v]. In the years since, the Times has declared itself to be politically neutral in its news coverage, though many people now tend to regard it as left-leaning. This perception applies to a greater extent to the paper’s opinion section, which includes columnists of multiple political persuasions, but often espouses liberal views on behalf of the Times itself. Ownership and the New York Times Company When Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones first founded the paper, they incorporated it as a corporation under their own names – Raymond, Jones, and Company – by selling stock to investors in upstate New York[vi]. The two men divided leadership of the company between themselves, with Raymond serving in the role now known as executive editor and Jones acting more in the role of publisher. Upon Raymond’s death in 1869, Jones bought up his former partner’s shares in the corporation and established control until his own death 22 years later[vii]. Jones’ heirs inherited his stocks in the company and took charge of the paper, but their failure to keep the paper’s finances afloat during the depression of 1893 caused Charles Ransom Miller, the Times’ chief editor at the time, to buy the shares from Jones’ family. But Miller was known only as a strong editor and was thought to have lacked the business and publishing skills needed to return the paper to its original strength. By 1896, the paper’s constant staffing changes and poor business decisions had led even to a decline in journalistic standards, and the Times neared bankruptcy[viii].
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It was in that same year that the New York Times Publishing Company, which still controls the paper today, entered the picture. This group of investors refinanced the Times and became its official owner, changing its name to The New York Times Company almost immediately. Stock was transferred between the hands of Jones’ heirs and these new investors, with the majority stake going to Adolph Simon Ochs. Both the editor and the publisher of a small paper in Chattanooga, Ochs possessed both the creative skills and business savvy his immediate predecessors had lacked. Since 1896, Ochs’ heirs have been the majority shareholders in the New York Times Company, and the current chairman is Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr[ix]. The Company now owns multiple newspapers, radio stations, and websites, including the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Boston Globe, and About.com[x]. The Modern Times In the last half-century of its history, the Times has been responsible for setting many of the standards of the American press that we now take for granted. Two court cases – New York Times Co. v. Sullivan and New York Times Co. v. United States – reasserted the freedom of the press guaranteed by the first amendment. The first, which took place in 1964, established clear standards to be met for a public figure to accuse a paper of libel[xi]. The second was the conclusion of the national debate over the so-called “Pentagon Papers,” which established that the government needed strong evidence that reporting could pose a threat to national security to stop the press from covering a story[xii]. The paper began to stand increasingly in opposition to public officials and the government, relying heavily on the idea that an
PRESS CORPS 10 objective paper’s duty is to check those in positions of power. The Times Online With the rise of online media, the Times has had a somewhat unique approach to the online cost equation. Its website has been consistently recognized as one of the best in the industry, and to the surprise of many, the paper retained much of its online readership even after instituting a paywall structure that only allows access to a certain amount of free content without the purchase of a membership. Nonetheless, some view this online strategy as an incomplete success since it is possible to access some restricted content for free through computer and website manipulation. The Times also maintains a strong presence on smartphones through its application, as well as a further appeal to Gen Y through its extremely popular blogs. Blogs like these serve as just one example of the diversified content the Times offers online. Over the past year, the number of interactive web design elements (e.g. an interactive map showing New York City’s pre- and post- Bloomberg landscape), multimedia standalones (e.g. video documentaries), and supplemental videos has rapidly increased. Times reporters have begun to develop individual social media presences, acting on
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behalf of the paper but incorporating a more personal voice and filter through which they comment on live news events. As news media grows increasingly digitized, the diversity and scope of online elements will likely develop even further, and we encourage you to be creative with your use of online media during the committee. Demographics The majority of New York Times readers have a college degree, and about 40% of them hold managerial positions in corporations. The median age of a Times reader is 49, while the median income is nearly $100,000. In catering to this audience, articles in the Times tend to be more difficult to read than those in other papers. While this characteristic renders the Times similar to the Journal, the Times is less aimed at the corporate audience than the other paper and treats the business section as more or less equal to others. Consequently, the Times is known as much for sections such as Style, Arts, and Metro as for its breaking and business news and is considered a thought leader in cultural journalism. The specificity of some of the paper’s sections to the New York tri-state area, moreover, causes the Times to feature stories with a variety of scopes, from local to national to global interest.
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Current Situation! In the twenty-first century, the world of print journalism is defined by paradox. With the rise of free content online, revenues are sluggish at best and newspapers are sometimes ironically forced to print their own obituaries[i]. The push for consumer-driven content, targeted to and aligned with readers’ interests, is challenging news organizations to inject opinion and bias into pages ordinarily sworn to uphold some form of objectivity. These are just two of the major challenges facing the news industry today. At the forefront in confronting these challenges are two titans in the newspaper business, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The Journal leads the way as the United States’ largest newspaper by circulation, while the Times slots in at third place in nationwide circulation[ii] — in between the two is the tabloidesque USA Today, which qualifies as a medium of journalism in its own right. This committee will focus on the Journal and the Times. Both are afloat, propped up by the media moguls who own large stakes in their parent companies: the Journal is controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s Dow Jones & Company, part of his larger News Corporation, while the Times is published by the Sulzberger family. Both the Times and the Journal have seen flagging ad revenues and print subscription revenues in recent years[iii]. These have necessitated cuts across the board, from management teams to reporting staff. To counter the loss of ordinary revenue streams, both newspapers have vastly overhauled and expanded their online operations. At the Times, a metered subscription model was put in place in 2010. Under this system, users can view a certain number of stories for free online,
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before being shuttered out from further content unless they pay a monthly or yearly online subscription fee, which is waived for print subscribers. The Journal, meanwhile, has employed a paywall for several years. This system simply blocks user access to many stories available on the journal’s website, forcing readers to pay a subscription fee in order to access them. Some stories, however, remain free to access online. Neither of these models has proved wholly successful thus far. While they have certainly boosted sagging revenues, many users simply employ workarounds and still access content for free[iv]. What is needed in the business side of journalism is a fundamental shift in consumers’ mentality, so that meaningful news content is not assumed to be free but rather valued as much as any other commodity. Until then, newspapers like the Journal and the Times are confronting the daunting transition into an online news business. Such models do not support the infrastructure or newsroom that a printed paper supports, necessitating extensive restructuring. This is a snapshot of the rather dismal business of journalism. For any media operative to work effectively, he or she must deeply understand the industry in which he or she works. For the purposes of this committee, you need not worry about the business side of things. You must keep in mind at all times, however, the implications of such business decisions. While daily print newspapers can afford to be weighty and filled with deeply reported stories, compiled together over a period of time, the online frontier demands rapid, efficient content and coverage of breaking material, just as much as it does the in-
PRESS CORPS 12 depth features that have become the hallmark of great newspapers such as the Times and the Journal. The increased competition and access to news—both well reported articles and more speculative or opinionated pieces—has placed a greater burden on reporters to make their writing lively and compelling, and to encourage readers to continue purchasing news coverage. This is an exciting time to be a reporter. You must exercise your skills, both in sourcing information and writing news copy, in the face of fast-moving events occurring around the world. Breaking news events will come in a variety of shapes and forms: war, political turmoil, economic issues, and more. Although these events will have regional origin, the journalist’s role is to not only assess how these events play out on an international scale, but also to localize the story and bring its message home to readers who may be continents away from the action. That is the challenge of journalism in this global village, where miles do not matter so much as the number of minutes you take to produce functional and well-written news copy for online production. In all this, the issues of real-world reporters will become apparent: censorship, funding, lack of resources, politics, public relations and network competition. These financial and business issues serve as a reminder that journalism does not
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operate in a vacuum: just like any other company, news organizations need to address the day-to-day problems that arise from running an international business. We will look at several of these issues in turn. Censorship and Access In an era during which the demand for news content is so high, the availability or supply of information, or at least the ability to print such information, is relatively low. The issue of censorship and access operates at two levels: governmental bodies preventing coverage of certain issues for reasons of public relations or security, and corporations, individuals, and institutions impeding coverage in a bid to maintain face. Both of these issues are difficult to combat and touch on the sensitive ethics of journalism. Governments have clear incentives to control the message spread both internally and globally about their actions. Consequently, journalists are facing increasing difficulty in accurately reporting on incidents and actions in places where those incidents and actions do not necessarily present the active parties in the best of lights. This is particularly the case in the Middle East and Africa, where governments systematically intimidate and threaten reporters, and many face active backlash from governments and civilians for
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their efforts[v]. In Asian countries like China, the issue is not so much access to information as access to truthful information, with politicians spinning issues outrageously in ways that conform to their desired message. Even in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, journalists must often deal with issues governments do not want covered, particularly in the security and foreign policy arena, where coverage can potentially jeopardize operations and lives. Governments also engage in larger-scale cover-ups, which may take years of work and solid reporting to uncover. In confronting issues of censorship and access, good reporters must strive for balance. This balancing act often involves countless considerations, foremost of which includes a desire to be an honest broker with readers, presenting a faithful portrait of what exactly is going on and what exactly individuals are doing. This, however, must come in tandem with a sensitivity both to personal and institutional safety — negative coverage of a government or individual, for instance, should not overly endanger a reporter, or else jeopardize the news operations’ ability to continue to function in the area — as well as the interests of the party being reported on. This final point can be somewhat delicate — extensive consultation between reporters, sources and editors is often necessary to adjudicate and act on this issue. There are times, for instance, that coverage of a specific issue might endanger a government operation and the lives of those involved, while at other times jeopardizing an operation (e.g. a drug cartel) through coverage of it might be normatively the right thing to do. The Times has come under fire in recent years for coverage of government operations and
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actions that were supposedly ‘leaked’ to the press[vi], either for political gain or through unsavory reporting techniques. These included extensive foreign security operations that involved the assassination of targeted terrorist individuals, as well as attacks on several locales of strategic importance around the Middle East. Both the Times and the Journal have encountered the issue of access in the business world in recent years. When corporations are performing well, they are more than happy to have news coverage, but when performance is not so rosy, corporations will do all they can to avoid scrutiny of their revenues, products, services, or management. This can lead to some difficulty in reporting the real story. News organizations cannot simply report speculation or the prognostications of a random individual; news, particularly of a negative flavor, can be substantially market moving. As such, news operations like the Journal need to be sure of the facts when they report them, and not merely relying on outside analyst predictions or comments. To address all these issues of access, news organizations are more and more often relying on anonymous sources. In the business world, this is particularly noticeable, as former members of management or disgruntled employees share inside stories about the greater performance of the corporation. The use of anonymous sources, however, presents ethical difficulties: news organizations must be both confident in what is being said as well as the veracity and position of the individual providing the information. On more than one occasion in recent years the Times and Journal have had to confront the issue of fabrication[vii], where
PRESS CORPS 14 sources neither real nor knowledgeable have appeared in print, providing often sensitive or mistaken information in ways that are simply unfair to the other parties involved. Ultimately, addressing issues of access and censorship while still producing a strong and reliable news report comes down to one of the central lessons of journalism: do the work. You have to be able to make that extra phone call, conduct that extra interview, and spend the time checking often dense records available online or in certain locales. You need to verify facts, acquire information, and importantly, spend the time developing strong human sources. These are sources who, although placed in sensitive positions and perhaps reluctant to comment on the record, nevertheless trust the reporter and are willing to help verify information and provide vital inside information at crucial times. This is not a new lesson in the world of journalism by any stretch, but it is certainly becoming more and more important as information is disseminated further and further afield and yet remains difficult to accurately uncover. Funding Dwindling newsroom budgets and significant cuts to foreign bureau spending have crippled formerly successful newsroom operations. Most American-based newspapers have shuttered
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foreign bureaus, in favor of relying on reports filed by the Associated Press, Reuters or other large newswire services. And even national coverage, formerly so strong among several American papers, has suffered, with bureaus in few major cities aside from a publication’s home remaining open in recent years. More and more often, newspaper publications are simply relying on aggregation, crowdsourcing, and other novel techniques to gather information with both breadth and depth from around the country and globe. This has placed greater and greater reliance on strong foreign work on the part of newswire services such as the Associated Press. At the Times and the Journal, foreign bureaus and domestic bureaus have certainly taken a hit: they have been substantially downsized and the availability of stringers and fixers has been cut. On the bright side, however, both publications still retain a rather strong network of national bureaus, and the Times in particular has not skimped on its foreign coverage either. On the micro level, funding cuts have certainly hampered the press corps’ ability to deliver fast and functional news copy, particularly abroad in countries where fixers and other support staff are a necessity. For instance, around the Middle East, no American publication has the deep bench of reporting and support staff required to file near-
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instantaneous copy on all large-scale breaking events. That means editors, predominantly in New York, and local bureau chiefs must be judicious in what is covered and what leads ought to be followed by their downsized bureaus. Bureau chiefs frequently are faced with covering, for instance, a roadside bombing and a large government military announcement, and lack the staff to adequately cover both. This may seem rather minor. But, as you will begin to feel during the conference, a small pool of reporters within a press corps is often not large enough to cover every single newsworthy event that happens in the world. The same is true for foreign bureaus as for reporters who follow politics. During primaries and other campaignseason events, there are often too many high-profile figures and stories that ought to be followed. Even a dedicated team of reporters may not be enough to provide adequate coverage. What skilled reporters and editors need to learn is to cut through the chaff and develop a strong intuitive sense of what the story actually is; from there, reporting teams can work together to ensure all aspects of that story are covered, perhaps at the expense of other, less important stories. In foreign bureaus, particularly with security and city coverage, the dependence on fixers — local individuals who speak the language and essentially facilitate the reporting, whether by arranging transportation or translation, or by harnessing a local network of contacts to develop the story — has led to difficulty as budgets are slashed. In addition, the formerly common system of paying local sources for information has also faltered due to the lack of funding. You will encounter difficulties in this vein during the course of the conference. You must be
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judicious and work together to decide what is and what is not worth the additional expenditure. Squander a lot of resources for a feeble story, or miss a story due to excessive frugality, and your editors will crack. Politics and Public Relations Newspapers have long been vehicles of political messaging. This is perhaps even truer today, in an age of extreme political savvy, than in the past. Both the Times and the Journal have come under attack for their political leanings, expressed in the diction and content of newscopy, and more than evident in the editorial lines pursued by each paper. Many conservatives, for instance, maintain that liberal biases distort the Times’ news coverage[viii]. Others say the paper is too erudite and is intended only for a select audience of educated readers. One of its reporters, Jason Blair, was caught plagiarizing in 2003, and the paper has faced charges of being too willing to accept the government’s word on issues such as nuclear weapons in Iraq (where there were none). The Journal has come under fire for its conservative leanings[ix], which critics say has resulted in the paper deliberately under-reporting stories that might be detrimental to their political cause and the shaping of news copy that often maligns liberal-leaning individuals and groups unjustly. It has also encountered its share of internal reporting issues, including gross fabrication, a too-intense focus on esoteric business issues, and systematic pandering to certain individuals. Much of this bias, whether perceived or real, comes from the mastheads and ownership of
PRESS CORPS 16 the respective papers. The Sulzberger family has long been a bastion of liberal ideology, while Rupert Murdoch keeps no secret about his political leanings — his flagship broadcast operation, Fox News serves as another platform for conservatives around the United States. As such, it will be difficult to escape the charge or even the practice of political bias in your reporting for the Journal or the Times. What is thoroughly more important is that you remain conscious of it, and that you understand the implications of your diction and that you strive to remain an honest broker for your readers. The appearance of bias might be subtle; your word choice, for instance, might be affected by your upbringing and the sorts of activities and environments you have encountered. Be aware of the fact that not everyone may have had the same experiences as you have, and remember that another set of eyes can often add fresh touches and refinement to your newscopy. In addition, there is no need to pander to certain constituents or to any target reader beyond a reasonably educated, literate population. This ought to be clear — the role of the press, whether served with a liberal or conservative bent, is to tell the stories that play out in our world every day. Fantasy will not be tolerated, and nor will veiled or unfair reporting.
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Competition Competition is both the bane and the motivator of good reporting outfits like the Times and the Journal. This is particularly true with the rise of online aggregating services like the Huffington Post, which retain a bare minimum of actual reporting staff, and the increased nationwide and global reliance on newswire services like the Associated Press and Reuters. Readers want information — fast — but they also want analysis. More and more nowadays, full service news operations like the Journal and the Times are forced to justify their value add by the inclusion of in-depth features, longer-term reporting pieces and a richer daily news copy. What this means is that while a newswire service or a website like the Huffington Post may beat the Times in getting a basic breaking story online, the product that appears in print and online for the Times will be more thorough, contain more context and analyst commentary, and be better written. Not only do full service news outlets have to compete with other text-based organizations, but they also need to fight for consumers’ attention spans with other mediums of news dissemination: this group once only included radio and television news channels, but has now expanded to include Twitter, email-based services, and in the business market, digital news terminals.
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Consequently, members of the press corps need to be mindful that producing high-quality news copy is of the utmost import, not only for their own future but also that of the print industry at large. Print publications like the Times excel at producing longer term features that cover often under-covered themes or individuals in remarkable ways — that is the surefire way to add meaningful value, rather than simply pandering to an audience and dashing toward tabloid-esque coverage. Similarly, at the Journal, reporters have taken pride in deeply reported business and human interest features that uncover previously unheard-of stories of human triumph and failure. This is what constitutes the best sort of reporting. Both the Times and the Journal have developed a strong bench of reliable sources that provide the critical analysis of what happened — it is not enough to simply say what it is that happened, as newswire services are able to do at rapid pace; you need to also explain why it happened, and what it means for the parties involved and other third parties. You should always be mindful of these competitive concerns, both for self-improvement as a reporter and also to ensure the continued robustness of your news operations. This is true both domestically, where coverage by local papers might be stiff competition, and internationally, where newswires and domestic services can be strong competitors. Concluding Thoughts Around the world, the press corps plays the unique and integral role of watchdog, holding institutions and world leaders accountable to their promises and actions. Even in the digital age of anonymous blogging and Tweeting, there is nothing that can replace the critical accuracy of
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dedicated, ethical journalism. Members of the international press corps are not there to solely fill seats at press conferences and take pictures of smiling politicians: they ask intelligent questions, dig deep into stories, and stay true to the tenets of democracy and citizen activism. In this press corps simulation, you as delegates will be asked to exhibit the same tenacity and ethical responsibility that are demanded of journalists every day. While other Model UN committees are dedicated to directly solving international crises, press corps is the only simulation that is dedicated to conveying these events to the greater public and informing people who come from all walks of life. Though press corps delegates will not be the ones who determine the course of international or national events, they will serve a role that is just as, if not more, crucial – that of channels of communications, of the interactive medium between newsmakers and the rest of society. We hope that you as delegates recognize this responsibility and exercise it with dignity and grace.
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Journalism’s Purpose (Role of the Committee) ! The purpose of journalism: Journalism serves a variety of functions in our community. News organizations can act as a third-party check on government power, rally like-minded individuals around the causes in which they believe, and provide information in an engaging and entertaining way. The roles that news organizations are able to play vary based on scope and location. National and global papers may have access to more information than their local counterparts, as well as a greater ability to influence key players in government and industry. Conversely, smaller-scale, local papers are often able to relate national and international events in a way that is relevant to the community and help communities form identities. As the role and fate of journalism have come into question over the last two decades, journalists are working harder to define their function in society. Some, who believe we can no longer equate financial success with true journalism, have subscribed to news organizations such as propublica.org that rely on charitable donation to bring about news reporting devoid of any outside interference[i].. Others, such as the Committee of Concerned Journalists, have compiled lists of the principles journalism ought to stand for. The CCJ, for instance, lists nine principles of journalistic purpose[ii]: 1. Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth. Your most important duty is to gather facts and check with multiple sources to assure that they are true. You must also ensure that the context in which you convey these facts does not alter their meanings or implications. 2. Its first loyalty is to its citizens. Even for-profit news organizations (such as the Times and the Journal) must always hold the overall public interest above any other parties. Unlike in most corporations, the writers at these papers ought to disregard the shareholders if their interests conflict with the pursuit of the truth. 3. Its essence is a discipline of verification. You must have a consistent and objective methodology for verifying information. It can often be impossible to separate your personal bias from a story, and it is not always wise to do so – but you must always verify facts even when aiming for an angle.
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4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover. It is important to understand the distinction between forced neutrality – always portraying two sides of an issue as equally beneficial or harmful – and journalistic independence. You do not need to strive for neutrality, but you cannot determine your angle from any source of information other than the facts. Personal bias and unverified claims should not impact your decision. 5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power. One of the most empowering feelings journalism can give you is the sense that what you write will actually have an impact. The power of the press to check those in control is the most significant example of this, and it is both the job and the reward of the journalist to do so. 6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise. Journalists often set the stage for community discussions of issues, so it is our responsibility to portray issues in a reasonable way that allows for compromise and genuine debate. This often means conveying not only a sense of the different sides of an issue, but also the importance of these sides – focusing, for instance, on the main viewpoints as well as the fringes of the debate. 7. It must strive to make the significant relevant and interesting. Journalism serves dual purposes, acting as a source of both information and entertainment. In order to serve any purpose at all, a news outlet must attract readers with interesting and entertaining stories, but it must also maintain a commitment to serious and impactful news to avoid become tabloid-esque. To strike this balance, you must find stories that you think people need to know about and convey them in a way that makes your readers want to understand the issue. 8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional. Since a newspaper is often the primary source of news for a community, one must bear in mind that the community relies on the paper to get a sense for the relative scope and importance of certain events. Journalists cannot choose to cover certain stories over others due to bias and must maintain a sense of objectivity in selecting content to cover. Often, you’ll hear criticism of papers for overdramatizing or overcovering issues and in doing so, inflating the public’s perception of them. Just as frequently, you’ll hear papers – including our own Yale Daily News – be criticized for failing to mention important stories at all. Both are perilous and it is important to get a sense of the full range of potential content to map out an appropriate course. 9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience. As a journalist, you must remember to listen to own conscience and know when to disagree with your colleagues. Most issues of journalistic integrity are not black-and-white. It is the collective responsibility of a newsroom filled with diverse opinions to give fair debate to the gray matter, and for that to happen no one can harbor a fear of speaking up.
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PRESS CORPS 20 Finally, it’s important to take into account the purpose espoused by the paper you will be simulating working for. Every media outlet has slightly different aspirations, and to fully engage in the simulation it is important to read each paper and get a sense of how it covers a particular issue in light of these principles. For instance, can you find a journalist’s voice and conscience in a story, even when it is written in the third person? Is there an issue you feel either paper overcovered or undercovered? Do research on scandals that have occurred with fact checking at both papers – what principles were breached to cause the ethical dilemma at hand? The more you refine your understanding of the journalistic process, the more you’ll be able to understand the purpose of the role you’re simulating.
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Structure of the Committee ! (1) THE NEWSROOM Producing a newspaper is no easy task. It requires the collaboration of a dedicated team — such as yourselves — and a variety of tasks other than reporting. A typical newsroom is headed by an Editor-in-Chief who oversees the general direction of the paper and managing the staff. The EIC is assissted by executive or managing editors, who often oversees the details of production more closely. Another layer of editors separates reporters from the leadership of the paper - these editors often work in a specialized section of the paper such as ‘politics’ or ‘features’ or ‘sports’. Then there is the reporter, who many would say is the heart of the paper. Some reporters work on a single investigative piece for months, gathering massive amounts of data on a specific topic and churning out long-form features. Others —known as beat reporters — follow one area of coverage closely and write articles whenever news breaks. For example, during elections, a reporter will typically be assigned to a beat of covering one candidate and his or her campaign. Then, there are also a fleet of general assignment reporters who cover whatever happens as it happens. Other types of reporters include photographic or video journalists who capture news content, but with a camera rather than their pens. Talented photojournalists must have an idea of how to convey a lot of information with a single image. At the end of the reporting process, copy editors read over each line of the paper to check to spelling and grammatical errors and to ensure the paper adheres to the newspaper’s designated style of writing. Outside of the team that produces the paper’s written content, a large staff is also needed to produce the physical, printed paper that arrives on your family’s doorstep each morning. A production and design team is charge of laying out the newspaper, working with font, size, placement and a variety of other design elements. Although the editors decide which stories run on the front cover and the importance of stories in the paper, it is up to the design team to make that hierarchy of importance apparent to the reader. Other staff members must upkeep the newspaper’s webpages and social media accounts, manage the business side of the paper, work on public relations and a variety of other tasks. As you can see, it takes a full team to produce a newspaper. (2) COMMITTEE STRUCTURE During the conference, you will report on a dynamic range of events — disease outbreaks, policy changes, political elections — in order to produce a daily paper with the news of the day. Each day, come prepared with laptops, notebooks and pen and paper. Photographers can bring cameras if they would like. REPORTING ASSIGNMENTS — Your YMUN experience will begin with an introduction to your newsroom — The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal — and your editor-in-chief who will be one the committee heads. Committee leaders will go over the basics of an article, including structure (lede, nutgraf, upside-down pyramid) and take questions. BREAKING NEWS SCENARIOS — As at a professional newspaper, the way news breaks is sporadic and unpredictable. Expect a variety of situations to come up and be prepared to react quickly. While a news event is breaking, reporters should take detailed notes and photographers should take photos.
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PRESS CORPS 22 EDITING — Committee leaders will work with Editors and Reporters to edit pieces for accuracy and conciseness, one article at a time to allow for individual attention. The process will take place in free time between scenarios. Reporters should take note as this is the ideal time to learn more advanced reporting. (3) YOUR ROLE During our simulation, you may choose to pick a specific role to play in the newsroom. Doing so will allow you to focus and learn one task. A list of potential roles follows but you are free to try as many of these tasks as you wish! General Reporters - The team of general reporters will write articles as news breaks on a variety of topics, whenever needed. Feature Reporter - The feature of reporter will write a long-form article on one topic. The reporter should choose on news event that breaks early on and spend the duration of the conference writing a long-form followup to supplement the original article about that event. Online Manager - The online manager will post to the paper’s social media accounts such as Twitter and Tumblr. The manager should post articles as they are completed but also post updates from reporters. For example, if an event breaks, the manager should aim to upload a short blog post as soon as possible and not wait for the final article to be completed. Photographer — The photographer will be responsible for visual elements of the paper. The photographer sholud be prepared with a camera — a phone camera is acceptable — to take pictures all the breaking news scenarios as they happen. This student must be flexible, able to act quickly and take initiative to get photos of events without waiting for instructions from editors. When news scenarios are not breaking, the photographer should work with reporters to think of visual elements such charts and graphics to include with stories. Editors — The editors will work with the head of the committee to review articles for coherency, accuracy and completeness. This role will be rotational for students that wish to participate. Editor-in-Chief — Jared, Natasha or Cynthia will serve as the editor-in-chief for your paper. All reporters and editors should report to us.
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Reporting Basics ! The news report is the collection of news stories or pieces of news copy that covers all that the newspaper deems coverage-worthy for the day (or, all that the paper is able to cover with limited resources), out of all the possible newsworthy events that take place around the globe. As reporters in the press corps, your role will be to produce this news copy. Here are a few basic pointers to get you going. News stories follow their own style. Reporting a news story is not the same as writing an essay or informative article — instead, what you need to tell an interesting story, albeit without fictive elements. Before we delve into a generic structure of a news piece, let’s first consider a few points about the general style that should inform your method and approach to producing news copy. In this section and the latter section on the structure of a news story, we have used as a basis a guide to news writing published online at Yahoo Voices and written by Pam Gaulin. 1. Shape the Story like an Inverted Pyramid Readers have short attention spans. They can easily stop reading your news story, and for that reason, the inverted pyramid shape of news copy has become a de facto standard, particularly with newswire services. This shape is simple to imagine: picture a pyramid, and turn it upside down. What is now the top of the news story is where all of the meat is in the story; that is to say, put all the important and most interesting content up the top, answering the reader’s implicit question: why should I read this story at all? The practical and historical reason for this stems from print news. Articles were written in column inches. Sometimes, due to space constrictions, editors had to cut parts of news stories. Literally, they had to cut parts of the article out to make room for other articles, advertising, or because the copy ran too long due to spacing in the column. Because the bottom couple of paragraphs could be cut at any time, it was essential to include the most important facts right up front. With rise of the Internet, news articles’ getting cut from the bottom up is not an issue anymore. But readers still expect to get the news up front. They don't want to have to read three pages before getting to the facts. 2. Steer Clear of Fiction News writing is not like fiction. Forget the suspense building techniques and foreshadowing of fiction. Give the readers the facts right up front. Don't save the good stuff for the middle or the end of the story. Approach the news story as if the average reader will only be reading the first three or four paragraphs. On the other hand, one literary technique is applied to news writing. Similar to well-written, fiction, a news article may start "in medias res," or "in the middle of things." News stories are not always expressed in a linear fashion. Do not begin with "President Smith was born in 1945." 3. Veer Away from Opinionated Content When writing a news article, be as objective as possible. If you find yourself including your opinion, then you might find yourself inadvertently writing an Op-Ed piece about the topic, rather than a news story.
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PRESS CORPS 24 While Op-Eds aren’t bad, for the purposes of the press corps committee, you will seek to produce functionally objective news copy, taking into account the difficulties of pure objectivity that have been discussed in the Current Situation section. Sometimes writing an Op-Ed piece is the only way you will write about an event. After the Op-Ed piece is finished, the writer may be done with the news event. Or, once the Op-Ed is out of your system, you may be ready to sit down and right the facts. Beginning news writers who have their choice of stories, may want to practice writing news stories by starting with events that interest them but have no emotional impact for them. By removing the emotional aspect up front, the writer will be less likely to include opinions in their articles. As the beginning writer gains skill with news writing, approaching more emotional and visceral subjects with objectivity will be easier.
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Reporting Structure! Now that you have some pointers about what you should and should not do in a basic news story, we present a rough structure that will help you get going in the world of journalism. Keep in mind, however, that this is no strict structure and that one of the virtues of a reporter is flexibility — some stories with particularly strong story elements might be better served by a more-narrative based approach, while others with striking visual elements might do well to be covered to accentuate these. 1. The Headline The headline of a news article can be written in two different ways. The traditional way is to write the headline in a purely factual manner. Just look at examples in the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times. This traditional way of writing a headline conveys what the article is actually about. For purposes of the Internet, a factual headline is also more searchable than the second option. The second option is to write a clever, sometimes cute headline. This works particularly well for small or local newspapers like the Boston Herald, which runs the gamut between being newsy and being tabloid-ish. A clever headline may catch more eyes, but it is not as searchable online as a factual headline. And readers who do not understand the play of words or the immediate meaning of words and names — particularly those outside the immediate market of the newspaper — may not derive the same enjoyment from the headline. Whichever way you pick, the headline should convey some sort of action and usually, though not always, will contact a verb. There is a mixed school of thought on which type of headline to use in print or online. Print also has physical limitations: sometimes, headlines cannot exceed a certain length due to the printing space available for content. There is no such problem for online headlines, which can stretch as appropriate; indeed, many publications like the Times and the Journal which run both online and print services sometimes run different headlines online and in print for the same story. Remember also that your headline may be competing with other articles, either your own, or those by other writers, so always go for what you think would be the most effective at attracting readers, whether a punchy information line, or a clever headline. When using a factual headline, writers can save the clever headline to use in the sub-heading. This way, readers will still be drawn in, and the headline will be searchable. The headline does not have to be written first, it can be written last. 2. The Lede The lede is the most important part of the news story. And again, there are two ways to go about constructing the lede. Under one approach, the lead should not tease the reader. The lede needs to relay the facts of the story right up front. State the who and the what in this sort of lede. If the when, where and how are important, include those as well. After reading the lede, the reader should know exactly what the article will cover. There should be no surprises.If the facts themselves are completely uninteresting, or not compelling enough, you may not have a real news story on your hands. Alternatively, however, the lede can be a longer segment of writing, containing anywhere from one to a handful of paragraphs that begin with a narrative that hooks readers into the rest of the story. This is much more difficult than it first appears and often, beginning reporters who try to construct narrative ledes end up
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PRESS CORPS 26 rambling on about an event that, upon re-read, is not so interesting. Whichever approach you take, make sure you have the reader on-board. 3. Second Paragraph: The nutgraf The second paragraph (or later, if you adopt a narrative lede) of the article expounds upon the lede. It is called the nutgraf, a term which is a colloquial contraction of ‘nutshell paragraph’, and details the significance of the event, or the "why" this event is newsworthy. Why should the reader read this? Why should they care? Be sure to answer these questions because the reader certainly won’t answer them for you! You can put in a quotation that captures the predominant sentiment or theme of your news story after the nutgraf. 4. Third Paragraph: Who Depending on the news story, the second and third paragraphs could switch places. If the event is about a famous person, the significance may be because of who they are are, which would bump this paragraph up. If the who is not as important as the why or why, this paragraph could also find its way further down in the article. Include a more in-depth paragraph about the person in question. Why is this person important? Consider this one of the background paragraphs. For example, "Director John Smith is currently working on a science fiction thriller. Smith is best known for films The Moon Glow and The Earthquake that Ended the World." 5. Fourth Paragraph: In-Depth After establishing what happened, who did it, why it's important, and why the person or people are important, go into further detail about the event. In all this, be sure to have people’s voices — whether in paraphrase or direct quotation — and ensure that people or corporations are doing something. Avoid the passive voice. 6. Fifth Paragraph and Beyond: Background Include any deeper background information paragraphs further down in the article. These paragraphs could include a quick biographical sketch of the newsworthy event, historical information, or other background information relevant to the news event.
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Suggestions for Further Research! Newspapers, especially the New York Times and Wall Street Journal: There is no better way to familiarize yourself with both the journalistic style and the topical biases of the two newspapers you will be working with than by reading them. From now until YMUN, try to read both of these papers as regularly as possible, particularly the opinion pages. Take note of the political lean of each paper’s regular columnists and editorial staff writers – see what positions the two editorial boards take on a given issue to build on your understanding of their differences. When reading hard news coverage, ask yourself whether the news is being reported with a bias. Does this bias align with that of the opinion page? How does each paper cover the same issue – remember to answer this question from multiple angles, taking into account who the reporters interview, how they structure their articles, and what subjective language (if any) they employ. Gallup and other sources for political statistics: Armed with first-hand experience of the two papers’ biases or lack thereof, look for more information about how this dichotomy is perceived by the nation and by the world. Find studies comparing this perception to experts’ understanding of media slant. If you notice any comparisons to other media outlets that are of interest to you, find coverage in those outlets that you can compare to the two papers. Other media outlets owned by News Corp. or the New York Times Company: Spend some time understanding the different publications or television news shows produced by each parent company and compare your findings to what you understand of the two papers. How do these other publications influence the papers you will be working with?
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Please also make sure you are registered on the delegate forum, your advisors should provide you with a sign up ink. For the latest information, updates, topic guides and more, visit Yale Model United Nations online at: http://ymun.yira.org For the second year, YMUN will be offering a competitive essay competition. For the rules and guidelines visit: http://ymun.yira.org/essay-contest/ Interested in participating in a challenging new program for highly motivated and exceptional delegates? Apply for the Global Exchange Program at: http://ymun.yira.org/global-exchange/ Get connected and download the new Yale Model United Nations iPhone application: https://itunes.apple.com/tc/app/yale-model-unitednations/id721125366?mt=8 or search for Yale Model UN
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PRESS CORPS 28 NOTES
[i] “Dow Jones History – The Late 1800s,” Dow Jones & Co. Inc., accessed June 26, 2012, http://www.dowjones.com /history.asp?link=djc-topnav. [ii] “Dow Index History,” eHow Money, accessed June 26, 2012, http://www.ehow.com/about_6612176_dowindex-history.html. [iii] “Clarence W. Barron,” NewsBios, accessed June 26, 2012, http://www.newsbios.com/newslum/barron.htm [iv]“Bancroft Family Members Express Regrets at Selling Wall Street Journal to Murdoch,” The Huffington Post, accessed June 26, 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/baancroft-family-wall-street-journalmurdoch-regrets_n_897537.html. [v] Crossen, Cynthia, “It All Began in the Basement of a Candy Store,” The Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2007. [vi] “Wall Street Journal Introduces New Front Page Advertising Opportunity,” Press release, July 18, 2006. [vii] Carr, David, “Under Murdoch, Tilting Rightward at The Journal,” The New York Times, December 13, 2009. [viii] Mitchell, Bill.,“The Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition: Expectations, Surprises, Disappointments,” Poynter Online, September 21, 2005. [i] “The New York Times,” The New York Times, accessed July 25, 2012, http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/newyorktimes_the/index.html. [ii] “George Jones Lecture Series, The Poultney Historical Society, accessed July 25, 2012, http://www.poultneyvt.com/george-jones-lecture-series-3. [iii] Rosenblum, Jonathan. The Mortara Affair Revisited. Jewish Law Commentary. Accessed July 25, 2012, http://www.jlaw.com/Commentary/mortara.html. [iv] Cornwell, John. The Pope in Winter. Viking 2004. [v] “New York Times Timeline,” The New York Times Company, accessed July 25, 2012. [vi] International Directory of Company Histories, Vol.61. St. James Press, 2004. [vii] Ibid. [viii] Ibid. [ix] “The New York Times Company Profile.” Media Owners Group, accessed July 25, 2012. [x] “Business Units.” The New York Times Company, accessed July 25, 2012. http://www.nytco.com/company/business_units/index.html [xi] “New York Times v. Sullivan,” United States Supreme Court, March 9, 1964 (376 U.S. 254). [xii] “Introduction to the Court Opinion on The New York Times Co. v. United States Case.” The United States Supreme Court, accessed July 25, 2012. [i] For a look at this phenomenon, see “Newspaper Death Watch”, available online at http://newspaperdeathwatch.com. [ii] “Audit Bureau of Circulation”, available online at http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/newstitlesearchus.asp [iii] For a recent look, see “The New York Times Co. Posts $88.1 million loss,” available online at http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=ad%20revenue%20new%20york%20times&source=web&cd=1&cad =rja&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2012%2F07%2F27%2Fbusiness%2Fmedia %2Fthe-new-york-times-co-posts-a-
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PRESS CORPS 29 loss.html&ei=OtNRUNXhCISz0QGwnYDIBg&usg=AFQjCNFLceLjHvwzp48Le0Qf841IFIXV_w [iv] “How to Get Around the New York Times Paywall,” available online at http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=workarounds%20nytimes%20paywall&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja &ved=0CDsQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.labnol.org%2Finternet%2Fnytpaywall%2F18992%2F&ei=kdNRUIXqB6u60QHgqoGwBg&usg=AFQjCNG7Zbxn9rvKfjp1ujzodx1WuBBAtA [v] For more info, see “Middle East and North Africa,” available online at http://opennet.net/research/regions/mena [vi] “Inquiry into U.S. leaks is casting chill…,” available online at http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=times%20leaks&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAC& url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2012%2F08%2F02%2Fus%2Fnational-security-leaks-lead-to-fbihunt-and-newschill.html%3Fpagewanted%3Dall&ei=JtRRUNr5KYaB0AH07YDYAQ&usg=AFQjCNGQTbLCJCpgHcBCw7V 0ZKjZrd_itg [vii] For one recent example of a Yale graduate fired from her job at the Journal for fabrication, see “Wall Street Journal intern fired for fabricating sources,” available online at http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=liane%20membis%20wall%20street%20journal&source=web&cd=1 &cad=rja&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.poynter.org%2Flatestnews%2Fmediawire%2F178783%2Fwall-street-journal-intern-fired-for-making-upsources%2F&ei=e9RRUK2UM6Ly0gH914CQCQ&usg=AFQjCNGQphPq0Ix6wUt3FZFitwNo5Rsazg [viii] Even by itself. See “Editor calls out NYTimes for bias,” available at http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=liberal%20bias%20nytimes&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0C CUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.foxnews.com%2Fv%2F1809206971001%2Feditor-calls-out-ny-timesfor-liberalbias%2F&ei=29RRUNWaJNSt0AGR7YCwAw&usg=AFQjCNGxOxrWHoygLXYjjpSRUViaqCHHUA [ix] For a comparison of alleged bias, see “NYT vs WSJ,” available online at http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=wsj%20conservative%20bias&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0 CDgQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fneilweinberg%2F2010%2F10%2F23%2Fnytvs-wsj-liberal-bias-vs-conservativebias%2F&ei=GNVRUOTbBc2P0QH8lYCADw&usg=AFQjCNEdmdvg2oIMo_7MKP-uMeMQenupsg
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