Full Version: Becoming a part of the story
As I'm sure most of you know, Greta Van Susteren has a show on Fox News Channel called On the Record. Normally I don't particularly care for this show, it's usually a bunch of lawyers yelling and screaming and generally acting stupid, but lately my respect for Greta herself, as a lawyer and a journalist has really grown.
She went down to Aruba when the news of the disappearance of Natalie Holloway broke, and she's been there ever since. She has broken virtually every story about this situation and has some absolutely dynamite interviews with those involved. One of her interviews, the one with the father of the prime suspect in the case even resulted in the arrest of that father. The authorities in Aruba admitted that Greta's questioning elicited information about the case that they weren't able to obtain in their own questioning. Since that time Greta has been getting interviews with darn near everyone connected with the case and quite frankly, she's been driving the investigation. For those who haven't seen her in action, you might want to check out some of the video clips from the website I linked above. Her training as a lawyer really shows. Her show ratings are also going through the roof for a cable news show. She's the talk of the television journalism world online as well, she's kicking everyone's backsides on this story.
But, she's also become a part of the story. As previously mentioned, one of her interviews led to the arrest of the father who was held for a time, and some of her other reports have caused the Aruban government and prosecutors to do things they might not normally have done. Quite frankly, if they ever solve this case I think it will be primarily because of the work of Greta.
Journalism 101 - You report the story, not be the story.
Questions for debate......
Has Greta crossed the line as a journalist by becoming a part of the story? Why or why not?
If you think she has, do you think she's doing the right thing?
She went down to Aruba when the news of the disappearance of Natalie Holloway broke, and she's been there ever since. She has broken virtually every story about this situation and has some absolutely dynamite interviews with those involved. One of her interviews, the one with the father of the prime suspect in the case even resulted in the arrest of that father. The authorities in Aruba admitted that Greta's questioning elicited information about the case that they weren't able to obtain in their own questioning. Since that time Greta has been getting interviews with darn near everyone connected with the case and quite frankly, she's been driving the investigation. For those who haven't seen her in action, you might want to check out some of the video clips from the website I linked above. Her training as a lawyer really shows. Her show ratings are also going through the roof for a cable news show. She's the talk of the television journalism world online as well, she's kicking everyone's backsides on this story.
But, she's also become a part of the story. As previously mentioned, one of her interviews led to the arrest of the father who was held for a time, and some of her other reports have caused the Aruban government and prosecutors to do things they might not normally have done. Quite frankly, if they ever solve this case I think it will be primarily because of the work of Greta.
Journalism 101 - You report the story, not be the story.
Questions for debate......
Has Greta crossed the line as a journalist by becoming a part of the story? Why or why not?
If you think she has, do you think she's doing the right thing?
Has Greta crossed the line as a journalist by becoming a part of the story? Why or why not?
I'll try to put my feelings about Greta aside for a minute and look at the situation as a whole.
Firstly, why is THIS particular case more important than other missing persons cases? Why is it more important than all of the other kids who go missing every year and get little more than a blip on the radar screen save the "Have you seen this child?" posters. Why does Greta find Natalee's case any more important than some helpless child who was abducted through no possible wrong-doing of his/her own? Natalee was an adult and from what it sounds like, an adult who may have made some poor decisions that could have had an impact upon her well-being. And no, I'm NOT blaming her, just wondering why the country is all up in arms about Natalee and not about the Erica Alexanders (an infant non-family abduction that I probably would have never heard about had I not checked the missingkids.org website) and the Bianca Pipers (13 yrs old, she is consdiered 'lost, missing, injured' - she never returned after she went out for a walk) who might not be 'pretty' enough to matter. The fact that Natalee is getting all of this attention while other kids' families are out there trying to find their CHILDREN and getting no national attention is pretty sad to me. The MYPWW(missing young pretty white woman) syndrome in full effect.
Secondly, is Greta trying to be the real life Jessica Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote)? Being a 'journalist' reporting the news isn't enough? I don't exactly tune in to FOX News regularly
, so I have no idea what she's doing there in Aruba, but I have to wonder WHY she's doing it. Is it a ratings game? Is she trying to get her name stamped on the case? Is she just being a good little journalist and reporting the most important news 
?
If you think she has, do you think she's doing the right thing?
Probably not, but like I said, I don't know what she's doing or why she's doing it so I can't say for certain. I'd just like to know why THIS case is more important than Miguel Morin or Tyreek Davis
I don't plan on watching FOX News to find out, though.
I'll try to put my feelings about Greta aside for a minute and look at the situation as a whole.
Firstly, why is THIS particular case more important than other missing persons cases? Why is it more important than all of the other kids who go missing every year and get little more than a blip on the radar screen save the "Have you seen this child?" posters. Why does Greta find Natalee's case any more important than some helpless child who was abducted through no possible wrong-doing of his/her own? Natalee was an adult and from what it sounds like, an adult who may have made some poor decisions that could have had an impact upon her well-being. And no, I'm NOT blaming her, just wondering why the country is all up in arms about Natalee and not about the Erica Alexanders (an infant non-family abduction that I probably would have never heard about had I not checked the missingkids.org website) and the Bianca Pipers (13 yrs old, she is consdiered 'lost, missing, injured' - she never returned after she went out for a walk) who might not be 'pretty' enough to matter. The fact that Natalee is getting all of this attention while other kids' families are out there trying to find their CHILDREN and getting no national attention is pretty sad to me. The MYPWW(missing young pretty white woman) syndrome in full effect.
Secondly, is Greta trying to be the real life Jessica Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote)? Being a 'journalist' reporting the news isn't enough? I don't exactly tune in to FOX News regularly
, so I have no idea what she's doing there in Aruba, but I have to wonder WHY she's doing it. Is it a ratings game? Is she trying to get her name stamped on the case? Is she just being a good little journalist and reporting the most important news ?If you think she has, do you think she's doing the right thing?
Probably not, but like I said, I don't know what she's doing or why she's doing it so I can't say for certain. I'd just like to know why THIS case is more important than Miguel Morin or Tyreek Davis
I don't plan on watching FOX News to find out, though.
QUOTE(kmsouthern @ Jul 6 2005, 09:11 AM)
I don't plan on watching FOX News to find out, though.
I'm sure you don't and that's probably keeping the folks at FOX up nights worrying.
I started this thread as something of a "case study" if you will about journalism. This is a real life situation where a television journalist has become a big part of the story they are covering. There is no question that Greta is making news in Aruba, but it's real news. She is digging out information, finding out facts and presenting them to her audience. Isn't that the job of a reporter? In this particular case though, Greta's reporting has changed the story because she seems to be more skilled at asking the right questions than the Aruban authorities are.
I hope we can have a reasonable debate about this without ranting and raving about other missing kids and FOX News Channel. If you want to talk about that, fine, start your own thread, Kmsouthern.
QUOTE(Aquilla @ Jul 6 2005, 12:32 PM)
I'm sure you don't and that's probably keeping the folks at FOX up nights worrying.
I started this thread as something of a "case study" if you will about journalism. This is a real life situation where a television journalist has become a big part of the story they are covering. There is no question that Greta is making news in Aruba, but it's real news. She is digging out information, finding out facts and presenting them to her audience. Isn't that the job of a reporter? In this particular case though, Greta's reporting has changed the story because she seems to be more skilled at asking the right questions than the Aruban authorities are.
I hope we can have a reasonable debate about this without ranting and raving about other missing kids and FOX News Channel. If you want to talk about that, fine, start your own thread, Kmsouthern.
I started this thread as something of a "case study" if you will about journalism. This is a real life situation where a television journalist has become a big part of the story they are covering. There is no question that Greta is making news in Aruba, but it's real news. She is digging out information, finding out facts and presenting them to her audience. Isn't that the job of a reporter? In this particular case though, Greta's reporting has changed the story because she seems to be more skilled at asking the right questions than the Aruban authorities are.
I hope we can have a reasonable debate about this without ranting and raving about other missing kids and FOX News Channel. If you want to talk about that, fine, start your own thread, Kmsouthern.
Okay, but I don't see how asking questions about other missing kids isn't part of the Greta issue. Why is it THIS case that she's so focused on? Why is it THIS case that she's gotten so involved in? What makes THIS case any more of a NEWS story than the others? These are the things I want to know. And by stating that I can't fully judge Greta's actions because I am not going to be watching FOX News anytime soon - I'm not quite sure how that is misconstrued as me 'ranting and raving' about FOX News. I don't watch, so I can't really judge.
I know that I'm suspicious of the reasons behind Greta's presence in Aruba and that's largely as a result of the kind of case that is. I can't help that. The two are related. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't biased to begin with (which is why I prefaced my post the way I did
).I realize that maybe shouldn't have gone on a tangent about the other missing kids since this is supposed to be about Greta's actions and journalism. I still can't help but think it's related though since Greta and other journalists aren't knocking on doors and asking questions and helping investigations in these cases. Part of my 'judgment' of whether she's 'doing the right thing' lies in her motives. As I said, I'm curious about Greta's motives in this case.
I do think that sometimes journalists can have a big impact upon investigations (hence 'investigative journalism'). I don't know whether each individual case is ethical or not because only the people involved can truly know what their motives are and the level of their involvment. I'm certainly not a journalism expert and don't know the 'rules' of journalism, but I definitely have heard the adage "report the story, don't become the story" and would have to think there's a reason for this being one of the most basic philosophies in journalism.
The fact is there is no demand for stories on missing fat girls and missing infants. The media reacts to public demand. Now to get on topic.
Investigative journalism is what she is doing. This is no different than the investigative journalists you see on your local TV stations checking out that used car dealer that ripped off some ole lady (usually an old black lady it seems like). This is no different than Watergate where investigative journalists brought down a President. Investigative journalists are always part of the story.
If she is aiding the investigation she is doing the right thing.
Investigative journalism is what she is doing. This is no different than the investigative journalists you see on your local TV stations checking out that used car dealer that ripped off some ole lady (usually an old black lady it seems like). This is no different than Watergate where investigative journalists brought down a President. Investigative journalists are always part of the story.
If she is aiding the investigation she is doing the right thing.
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