Is Canzano being unethical?

Then. Don't. Do. The. Shows.

Simple, right?

BTW, JayFarrar, ethics -- even journalism ethics -- pre-date the Poynter institute. They'd still be the issue if the Poynter institute went kaput tomorrow.

 

Broadway:
I'm sorry. I never read a thread on here where Rick Morrisey or Skip Bayless or anyone else who works/worked for the Tribune had their ethics called into question over coverage of the Cubs. (Thankfully).
You folks seem to believe that people will sell their ethics pretty casually.
But it didn't take a dime to get certain NYTimes or USAT writers to sell. They did it for an easy road to glory.
And not even $80,000 a year will get the most ethical to sell his beliefs.
The "appearance" of a conflict of interest?
Appearance to whom?
To you? To Poynter?
To whom?
What's the next step if Allen decides he wants to be in the newspaper business and buys the Oregonian? What do you do then? Everybody up and quit? Nonsense.

 

Yes, yes and yes. Mostly to the public but beyond that, to other Oregonian reporters (who presumably are held to similar high standards), to other journalists and, frankly, to Allen and the Trail Blazers, letting them know that the Oregonian's voices are not for sale.

It's scary and depressing how many of the hacks here don't get the principles involved in this. This is basic stuff.

(Rick Morrissey has written about his newspaper's conflict of interest. And he's not profiting from a second paycheck signed by the Cubs.)

 

Well, I know I speak for the rest of the board when I say how grateful I am to have someone as knowledgeable as you here to tell us how we should be conducting ourselves.

 

Readers, perhaps?

Check the comments in the original links. They're not all congratulatory.

It is amazing Canzano can read my mind. You are a SELLOUT!

I don't care what you say about editorial control. In the back of my mind I will know where your paycheck is coming from and question your motives in print and on radio.

Too bad. You were about the only voice of reason around here...

(REPLY FROM JC: Take a look around the country. There are journalists doing radio programs on flagship stations in New York, Boston, Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Salt Lake City and Detroit, among other places. If you think I've sold out, you're entitled to stop reading and listening.)

-- From Canzano's Oregonian blog

 

Yes, the "stop reading" answer is particularly heartening to see at a time when circulation numbers are plummeting everywhere. I'm sure his editors are tickled.

 

Sirs, Madames,

Mr macg and others here state it pretty clearly: The problem isn't Canzano making an extra 80k or doing radio. It's collecting that 80k from a company which puts him in conflict of interest. And it's bone-headed to say that Paul Allen doesn't care about his team or his radio station. That's not the point. Canzano doesn't have to hear about it from Allen personally--it can come (and likely will) from a suit in a corner office who more directly punches his ticket. Why doesn't he take his act to another radio station and be free of conflict? Because it wouldn't pay him so well, I suppose. So what determines this higher price point? What exactly is the radio station paying for? (Or what does those in the corner offices suppose they're paying him for?) Canzano's rationalization of the ethical issue--others are doing (something like) it looks like (is) dissembling.

That The Graduate is supposing this is a matter of career envy is pretty laughable.

YHS, etc

 

1. This is proof that no matter how high and mighty they are about their standards, and it seems as if the Oregonian is snootier than most, once the possibility of saving a nickel enters the picture, ethics departs. They're letting Canzano do this because it keeps down the cost of one of their higher-paid employees. Period.
2. In an ideal world, all newspapers would forbid their reporters and writers from appearing on other local media for money. That's not the case. Way to make themselves look like sloppy seconds.
3. Don't know Canzano from Adam. I accept all the vouchers as to his integrity. But human nature tells us his writing will suffer in this dual role. I know I tend to apportion my time and effort at work by how much I'm paid for each chore. The ethical question to me here is giving less than your best to TWO employers. Canzano can always quit if he's pressured to soft soap the Blazers. That shouldn't be an issue.
4. Newspapers are walking conflicts of interests. Tell your publisher you've got a story about unscrupluous practices by local car dealers and see what happens. The sports staff of the Globe, all of the ones I know personally being journalists of high integrity, are ORDERED to appear on the cable channel owned by the Red Sox. They don't make extra, it's their day's work. It's a MANDATORY conflict, because the Times is a minority owner of the Sox.
5. Given that environment, all anyone can do is make their own decisions about how they make their money. If you honestly don't think your work will be affected by who's signing the checks, go for it. If you're wrong, the listeners and readers will burn you soon enough.

 

Twoback: It's funny that you should mention Morrissey and Bayless, because both those guys have addressed the inherent journalistic problems of having the Tribune Co. own the Cubs.

If Paul Allen bought the Oregonian, it would certainly diminish the paper's credibility when it came to covering Allen's businesses, but I wouldn't expect the rank-and-file staff to quit over something so far out of their control. That's very different from Canzano voluntarily accepting Allen's money and then expecting people to just trust that he's still unbiased in his reporting about Allen's team.

Frankly, I'm tempted to think that you, JayFarrar and SEC guy are just having a little fun with us on this subject, because you're questioning an obvious, basic tenet of journalism. Why should we avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest? That's like asking why should we double-check to make sure we have names spelled right.

 

Not messing around.
Basic tenet of journalisms: be honest, fair, open, scrupulous, just, thorough.
I don't think "don't do radio" got in there.
There is no way to avoid the supposed "apparent conflict of interest" when investors own so many different business and these lines start to be crossed all over the place. It's not just the Tribune. It's the St. Pete Times putting their name on an arena, other papers putting their names on events. The only conflicts that matter are internal: Am I doing my job the way I should? Am I being allowed to do my job the way I should?
Allen has owned other media business in the past. A local radio station in Portland is not his first entry into the business. To suggest that anyone who worked for his other media businesses and had to cover his teams somehow had their integrity compromised is ludicrous and offensive.

 

Wow.

Honest, fair, open, scrupulous, just, and thorough. Good luck convincing your readers that you're any of those things when you're getting 80 grand a year from one of the people you cover. When someone accuses Canzano of being in Allen's pocket, he will have absolutely no basis on which to argue.

 

He'll have his body of work.
It speaks for itself now.
It will tell the story then.