(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The news, the truth and running down rumors in Montana journalism – Daily Montanan [1] ['More From Author', 'July', 'Darrell Ehrlick'] Date: 2022-07-21 In a recent terse exchange, a source accused a staff member of intentionally ignoring his news tips and other allegations. He said that the reporter’s lack of action or attention to these pressing matters of voter fraud were a reason why nobody trusts the “mainstream media.” (His quotation marks, not mine.) He said he’s had the same problem with many fellow Montana journalists who are lazy or stupid. Because the Montana journalist circle is small and has (sadly) shrunk, I know many full-time journalists in this state, and I can vouch that they are neither. In truth, what most folks read in the Daily Montanan or any website is a fraction of what work we’re completing behind the scenes. We get all sorts of tips, story ideas and angles thrown at us constantly. Yet what is not seen is how many tips or pitches fizzle or evaporate with a few minutes of research or a phone call. Despite claims to the contrary, we’re not in the rumor, speculation or half-truth business. We simply report what we know, and it should be fairly transparent as to how we know it because it should be outlined in the story. For example, as you can imagine after the 2020 Election, we heard plenty of wild rumors about ballot counts being off, machines failing and sneaky election judges. I can tell you two things about this from my experience: We have investigated those rumors that had enough substance to actually track. In other words, we needed more to go on than a general suggestion that we should generally “look into the election.” And, in every instance where we invested staff time to discover the truth of a voting or election situation, we were presented with a clear, logical explanation that seemed not only plausible but correct. Why? Because the election officials walked us through the step-by-step process and also provided whatever documentary evidence they could. This resulted in a dearth of stories about election fraud in Montana because thankfully and luckily, it simply doesn’t exist. Even if you want to accept that Montana’s journalists are lazy or near incompetent, doesn’t it stand to reason that if any of us news-hungry newsies could find evidence of voter fraud that we would write about it relentlessly not only because it would be important news, but also because it would be the kind of “scoop” that would win awards and accolades? To think otherwise is to allege a massive conspiracy by these same journalists who take a lot of friendly and professional pride at hunting down news stories. And it is to assume that we would tolerate government officials breaking the law when, in every other case, we relentlessly pursue cases of malfeasance, ethical breaches and garden-variety political crooks. Because we’re in the news business, we’re obligated to report what we can verify, as a matter of ethics and practice. We’re not in the rumor business and we don’t list all the things that we researched only to find that they were not true or, at best, misguided. Instead, when we encounter a news tip that is debunked by facts, we thank the person on the other end of the phone for their time, and move on. Some may see that as evidence of conspiracy, but in fact, it’s exactly why you should place more trust in journalists — and if not journalists, in the process of journalism. Our role is to take rumor, speculation and half-truths and ascertain to the absolute best of our abilities where the truth lies and what different stakeholders have to say. We are simply not in the business of being some kind of notepad concierge who will fetch whatever news that fits conveniently into your worldview. Where many have begun to see conspiracy is actually a powerful testimony to the beleaguered but surviving news corps in Montana. What we don’t print is often just as important as what we do because in both cases, we’ve gone through the rigorous, time-consuming process of finding the truth. Where and when we find the truth, we print it; when it’s incorrect, rumor or misinformation, we don’t add to the confusion by giving it more credibility. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/07/21/the-news-the-truth-and-running-down-rumors-in-montana-journalism/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/