Thursday, August 3: Read the second post in this series: Don’t Plagiarize!
——————————————————————
This is the first post in a series called “How to Avoid a Blogosphere Scandal.”
The advice can apply to anyone at anytime, but the primary audience is bloggers.
In my short blogging career, I’ve discovered that the more critical and on-point you are about what’s going on in the world, the more detractors will try to dig up dirt on you, “out” you, or hunt for shortcomings, secrets, contradictions, and hypocrisy. People who don’t like you or what you have to say will always look for ways to trip you up. Don’t give them the satisfaction.
Disclosure
Most professions have rules or guidelines about disclosing conflicts or potential conflicts of interest. For example, the preamble to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states:
The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility.
While we may question mainstream media’s truth-seeking ability or whether they truly strive to provide a “fair” account of events, I believe that in general, most journalists recognize that with a free press comes responsibility. The press serves as a check on government. Part of its duty is to make sure we the people know what’s going on. While I trust the media in theory to tell me the truth, I know that no human is truly objective. As long as I know the source of information is left-leaning, for example, I can make judgments about the fairness (or unfairness) of the coverage, even though events may be factual.
According to SPJ, “Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know.” That means reporters should disclose potential conflicts that interfere with the “right to know.” Whether or not bloggers consider themselves journalists, we should be under a similar obligation. Bloggers pride themselves on being transparent. That doesn’t mean we’re obligated to tell all our business. It means that we’re obligated to let readers know if we’re being paid to blog about a certain topic or person.
Political bloggers tend to be pretty transparent about what they believe, why they believe it, who they voted for, etc. As blogging is still a new medium, many of us are still developing our styles and niches and defining our goals and reasons for blogging.
Even though the medium is new, there are a few principles bloggers should keep in mind. For example, if you’re working for a politician and you blog about the politician, you should disclose the relationship. If I were providing content for Michael Steele’s blog for a weekly salary (which I’d like to do because his blog stinks) and I blog favorably about Steele at LBC, I would be under an ethical obligation to disclose that information to readers. Why? Keep reading.
Pat Hynes, consultant for John McCain
I found out this weekend that blogger Pat Hynes of Ankle Biting Pundits, a man I met at CPAC and like very much, is a paid consultant for John McCain, but he didn’t reveal this fact on his personal blog.
I don’t know who broke the “scandal,” but I read about it on Jim Geraghty’s National Review Online Blog. Pat defends himself in Regarding Disclosure. There’s nothing unethical about working for John McCain, but if you’re going to blog about him, readers should be privy to the relationship.
Some bloggers questioned Pat’s integrity. Whether or not the criticism is fair, failing to disclose does open us up to this kind of thing. Hiding or not revealing these sort of relationships for whatever reason can damage our credibility.
If we bloggers are going to demand transparency from the media and criticize other bloggers for failure to disclose, we must hold ourselves to the same standard. Why should we disclose financial relationships? Because people don’t want to be manipulated. If someone blogs in support of a candidate and encourages your support, imagine how manipulated you’d feel if you found out the blogger was on the candidate’s payroll. He may have been sincere in his praise and really believes the candidate is worthy, but people will wonder if the blogger’s words were his own, or if those words were paid for by a third party.
(I can’t remember how I found this Wonkette post, but it will serve as an example in another part of this series: Link to sources, especially to bloggers whose photos you download from their blogs without attribution. 
)
The Armstrong Williams Scandal
Armstrong Williams (photo from his site) learned this hard lesson last year. The Bush Administration paid him $240,000 to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on TV and radio to a black audience — and encourage black journalists to do the same. Scandal erupted when someone found out about it. Williams defended himself by saying that he sincerely supported NCLB, but that was no defense.
Notwithstanding the race targeting, I didn’t like what Williams did because it was embarrassing. It made him look like a paid shill with something to hide. At the same time, I don’t begrudge the man a government contract. Just disclose that you’re on the payroll! (I offered my three cents in Armstrong Williams: The Wrong Side and An Apology That Misses The Point.)
On the Left
Is it wrong to say I care more about the integrity of conservatives than I do liberals? Well, so be it. Leftist bloggers Jerome Armstrong (MyDD) and Markos Moulitsas (Daily Kos) were on the payrolls of Democrats. Jim Geraghty drafted a helpful timeline of the unfolding scandal.
Last Things
Bloggers should disclose financial relationships with politicians and businesses they blog about. If you don’t and a blog swarm ensues, you can’t blame anyone but yourself.
Next post: How to Avoid a Blogosphere Scandal: Don’t Plagiarize!
I have a short list of topics for this series, but I’m open to a few more. What’s your advice to bloggers who want to avoid being the target of negative blog swarms?
Update: Jim Geraghty writes:
If you’re a blogger, and you’re being financially compensated by a candidate, and you have not yet disclosed this fact to your readers, send me an e-mail. Tell me your side of the story…Because, sooner or later, you’re going to get caught. If you come out now, you’ll at least get some credit for doing the right thing; if you come out and admit it because I or some other reporter have caught you, it will only get worse.
(Emphasis in original)
Update II: I would guess most bloggers are hobbyists, but all bloggers — professionals and hobbyists — should examine whether they benefit from a person or organization financially or otherwise, and whether they’ve disclosed the relationship if they blog about the person or organization. I’m looking into my own dealings to weed out and/or disclose potential conflicts. What I blog, I believe, but others can get the wrong idea…
A commenter says in a few sentences what it took me a long, drawn-out post to say:
Regardless, bloggers must realize that if they blog about things where they have a financial incentive to skew their views, those views will be met with suspicion. If a blogger aspires to gravitas, they need to think long and hard before taking the lucre…The bloggers who have the greatest respect are the ones we believe are independent.
Update III (8/1): Hugh Hewitt takes a moment away from his coverage of Israel-Hezbollah and comments on the Hynes story. Danny Glover at Beltway Blogroll does another round-up.
