AP chief: Beware of yellow journalism in cyberspace p. 31

By: Mark Fitzgerald

IN THE GIDDY, throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks world of cyberspace, journalists must not let themselves be seduced into dropping their own standards, says Louis Boccardi, president and chief executive officer of the Associated Press.
Speaking at the Interactive Newspapers '95 conference in Dallas, the AP chief said the uninhibited discourse that characterizes the Internet and online services is valuable, but not the tone journalists can adopt.
Nonjournalists can gather important information but it must be kept in perspective.
"Let's know what we're reading and be aware of where it comes from," Boccardi said.
"This is free speech, the town meeting, the back-fence discussion ? and we treasure it and defend it.
"But the part of what floats in cyberspace that is looked on as journalism still carries the responsibilities that journalism has always carried," Boccardi said.
Boccardi knows firsthand about the dangers of a bogus story appearing in cyberspace.
In early December, a story that looked and read as if it had been produced by the AP was posted on the Internet (E&P, Jan. 21, p. 33). The article, with an AP byline and a Vatican City dateline, described a press conference in which the Vatican reportedly announced that Microsoft Inc. had agreed to acquire the Roman Catholic Church for "an unspecified number" of Microsoft shares.
Whether it appears on a printed page, or a series of pixels on a computer screen, journalism must be accurate, objective and fair, Boccardi said.
"As we look excitedly at the interactive world and its promise, with its changing tools of communication, it
is important to remember that the
principles of the news piece do not change," Boccardi said.
Just as many newspaper marketing executives at Interactive Newspapers '95 emphasized the importance of content in the new electronic delivery systems, so too did wire service head Boccardi.
"Although the revolution that brought you [here] focuses on the delivery of information, it ultimately involves content ? the gathering of it, the judgments made on it, and the prioritizing of it. It is our job to see that we live up to the opportunities that technology provides," Boccardi said.
And, despite his cautions to journalists, Boccardi said the new technology has the potential to significantly strengthen news reporting.
"The new order promises greater accountability for the subjects of news because so much information will be publicly available, and news sources will be able to respond quickly online to what is written about them," Boccardi said.
"We should take advantage of the improvements in technology that let us assemble and process so much more information so much more quickly and do a much better job of providing the depth and context needed so much more today," he said.
But this "interactive age" will also change things for journalists, he added.
"The new order will demand greater accountability from journalists as well ? and precaution by them, too, so we don't allow the seductiveness of technology to change the principles of what we do," he added.
At the same time, Boccardi said, the online information will change what has been a one-way relationship between editor and reader.
"For the first time, newspapers can break through their space limitations to give their readers more than what will fit on the printed page, a page becoming increasingly expensive as newsprint prices climb," Boccardi added.