Protest all you want, I'm listening
As a government reporter, I've covered more than a few protests and I always find it rather tricky. I'm well aware that public perception of a protest -- whether it is just or just stupid -- depends a lot on how it is covered by reporters like me.
You'll notice the latest protest in a story in today's paper regarding the pristine native grassland where UND's research office is proposing to build a new multi-million dollar germ research center.
I hoped that I've been fair and balanced, but it struck me that there are several factors that can sometimes be distorted by the news media due to institutional limitations that I'll explain in a bit.
Let's take crowd size, for example. I counted nearly 200 people at the germ lab public forum, the majority of them UND faculty members or students. Assuming, as the UND research office does, that public support is necessary for this project to go forward, the question is which public?
Suppose this meeting was held at, say, Grand Forks City Hall, how many students do you think would show up? Since it was held at UND where parking can be infuriating for an outsider, how many members of the general public do you think stayed away? I wouldn't venture to guess, but I bet it would be a factor.
The general public is important here because community acceptance is a critical part of the federal government's decision.
Sometimes, though, it's not how many people protest but how angry they are and how much they have to lose. Had the forum been held elsewhere and fewer people were present, it wouldn't have had the same intensity.
You could argue that if people cared, they'd show up. The counter argument is that sometimes you don't know that you care until someone convinces you. That usually starts with a small number of ultra-passionate people who can convince bystanders to join their cause.
The problem for me as a reporter is it's hard to explain these factors without appearing to take sides. I can report the crowd size and the venue and remain objective but not the relationship between the two. I can't report the intensity of the protest directly, only through the use of powerful quotes, but even then I can't quote everyone.
You'll notice the latest protest in a story in today's paper regarding the pristine native grassland where UND's research office is proposing to build a new multi-million dollar germ research center.
I hoped that I've been fair and balanced, but it struck me that there are several factors that can sometimes be distorted by the news media due to institutional limitations that I'll explain in a bit.
Let's take crowd size, for example. I counted nearly 200 people at the germ lab public forum, the majority of them UND faculty members or students. Assuming, as the UND research office does, that public support is necessary for this project to go forward, the question is which public?
Suppose this meeting was held at, say, Grand Forks City Hall, how many students do you think would show up? Since it was held at UND where parking can be infuriating for an outsider, how many members of the general public do you think stayed away? I wouldn't venture to guess, but I bet it would be a factor.
The general public is important here because community acceptance is a critical part of the federal government's decision.
Sometimes, though, it's not how many people protest but how angry they are and how much they have to lose. Had the forum been held elsewhere and fewer people were present, it wouldn't have had the same intensity.
You could argue that if people cared, they'd show up. The counter argument is that sometimes you don't know that you care until someone convinces you. That usually starts with a small number of ultra-passionate people who can convince bystanders to join their cause.
The problem for me as a reporter is it's hard to explain these factors without appearing to take sides. I can report the crowd size and the venue and remain objective but not the relationship between the two. I can't report the intensity of the protest directly, only through the use of powerful quotes, but even then I can't quote everyone.
posted by Tu-Uyen at 12:30 PM
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