Chequebook journalism
Chequebook journalism is the controversial practice of news reporters paying sources for their information. In the U.S. it is generally considered unethical, with most mainstream newspapers and news shows having a policy forbidding it. In contrast, tabloid newspapers and tabloid television shows, which rely more on sensationalism, regularly engage in the practice. In Britain and throughout Europe, journalists paying for news is fairly common.
Among the reasons cited for why it is unethical to pay a source, one is that it can easily affect the credibility of the information the source provides. Since paying a source creates a legal business relationship, it can also affect a journalist's ability to remain objective. The payments are typically for exclusive rights to publish personal information or obtain an interview, which for some news events, leads to bidding wars among the media for access. It also creates a potential conflict of interest by the publisher, whose neutrality should always be protected. Or it may give the source an incentive to embellish or exaggerate, and even fabricate details, since part of the bargain with the reporter is to provide them interesting and valuable information.
In the past, chequebook journalism became an issue after certain news events regarding celebrities and politicians, as they earn the publication substantial income. The promise of high profits makes them more willing to pay for information. Past examples include stories about Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, O. J. Simpson, Princess Diana, and Richard Nixon, where sources were sometimes paid millions of dollars for interviews. Defenders of the practice consider news information to be a commodity, which a source has a right to sell to a reporter for the highest price, in the same way the publication sells its news to the public. When payments to a source became disclosed to the public, however, it has even undermined court cases, as when witnesses admitted they had been paid for providing confidential information to the press about the case.
Some hazards of chequebook journalism have become more common, as the practice has made celebrities and politicians a lucrative target for tabloids, and a form of public voyeurism which attracts viewers. In situations where a source has been paid for making unproven allegations against a public figure, the mere publication of a story about it has damaged numerous careers, regardless of whether the alleged offense actually took place. A number of well-known journalists, such as Walter Cronkite, have suggested forcing disclosure of any payments to be part of the news story.
Definition
Chequebook journalism is the practice of paying money or other consideration to news sources, usually people, by reporters or news agencies, in exchange for the right to publish their story in a newspaper, magazine or on television. The rights purchased are often for exclusive rights, thereby allowing only a single news publisher the right to reproduce, edit, resell, televise, or use the story as they choose. The practice may include having the source grant an interview and provide personal and private information.Controversial issues over its use
The Society of Professional Journalists, an organization formed to maintain high ethical standards of behavior in the practice of journalism, states that journalists should not pay for access to news. Their guidelines also suggest being wary of sources offering news information for compensation. By avoiding paying for news, according to the SPJ, journalists will be able to act independently, avoid bidding for news, and will prevent any conflict of interest. Competition for getting a story does not give a journalist license to cross ethical boundaries.Most news outlets disapprove of paying for news or else ban the practice outright as a policy. Among the reasons for those policies, according to Andy Schotz, chairman of the SPJ's ethics committee, is that paying for an interview immediately puts the credibility of the information they provide in doubt. In addition, paying sources creates a legal business relationship, thereby casting doubt on the reporter's ability to maintain total objectivity, with no bias. As such, it can lead to a conflict of interest when publishing news stories. Journalism should strive to remain neutral and unbiased, according to journalism expert Roy Peter Clark.
The controversial aspects of chequebook journalism have been debated by those strongly against the practice and those who support it, at least in certain situations. For example, the imprisonment in 2016 of Tara Brown and Stephen Rice, considered two of Australia's finest reporters, came about during production of a 60 Minutes story concerning the recovering of abducted children. In supporting such payments on occasions, such as that one, an editor with The Daily Telegraph notes that "sometimes there are individuals who simply won’t speak without being paid."
Schotz suggests full disclosure by news publishers, one that their readers or viewers will understand. He states, "If there's a conflict of interest, then what should come next is explaining it in detail, letting viewers know you had a separate relationship other than just that of a journalist and a source." Schotz's advice for aspiring journalists:
Don't pay for interviews. Don't give sources gifts of any kind. Don't try to exchange something of value in return for getting a source's comments or information or access to them. Journalists and sources shouldn't have any other relationship other than the one involved in gathering news.
Walter Cronkite likewise suggested that journalists should be forced to disclose the amount of any payment given to sources. That would include incorporating that detail in printed stories and on televised news programs. Some newspapers or TV shows have taken the step of raising the issue of how much money was paid to the source by a competing media, and publishing the amount paid, with the goal of casting doubt on their competitor's version of the story. That methodology was apparent when A Current Affair announced a new policy of no longer paying for stories, and blowing the whistle on competitor shows that do.
In at least one court case, the simple refusal by the person alleging an injury to answer whether or not they were paid by a publisher for their story, helped undermine their credibility and contributed to their case being lost.
There are some journalists and publications which have defended the practice of chequebook journalism. Among their rationales are that information is a commodity, giving the source an ownership or property right to their story; that since the news publication earns money from the story, the source has a right to a share of it; that the source has a right of privacy over their story, which they can sell if they choose; that a source should be rewarded for their time in being interviewed; or that payments received by the source can be used to cover their legal fees or other expenses related to the story.
Tabloids versus mainstream media
The exchange of money or other consideration in return for news information has been practiced in small and big ways, both good and bad. While chequebook journalism has historically been used by tabloid newspapers, it has more recently been used by major news organizations or agencies along with the mainstream media. It has led to the creation of a "culture of checkbook journalism," according to the Columbia Journalism Review, where some tabloid newspapers willingly pay for stories about scandals, and where some journalists now assume they should pay for gossip: "Once money enters the reporting equation, it has the potential to corrupt the whole journalist/source relationship," states the Review.Chequebook journalism became a national controversy in 1994 after it became public that the National Enquirer, a tabloid newspaper, had offered to pay $1 million for an interview with O. J. Simpson's friend Al Cowlings, before Simpson's murder trial. The paper also found the clerk who sold Simpson the knife allegedly used, and paid the clerk $17,000 for the information. Iain Calder, former European editor of the Enquirer, said that his paper pays well for tips about celebrities' private lives.
During Simpson's trial, the judge admonished all attorneys to keep their witnesses away from the press to protect the "integrity" of their testimony. When the judge learned that Hard Copy and Star tabloids paid a future witness an estimated $100,000 to be interviewed, she eliminated the witness from the trial, potentially affecting the outcome of the case. The hounding of witnesses by the media led California Governor Pete Wilson to immediately sign a bill which henceforth made it illegal for witnesses and jurors in criminal trials to sell their stories until the case is finished.
Howard Kurtz is among many journalists who states that paying for news stories, which he says was "essentially invented by the London tabloids," raises questions about their credibility. And writer Andrea Gerlin adds that the circulation wars among British newspapers has over the years led to rounds of "media witch-hunts, checkbook journalism, and intrusive stories about celebrities." In 2012, it was disclosed that reporters and editors at The Sun, a UK tabloid, had for years paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to police officers, along with a "network of corrupted officials" in the military and the government, to inform the paper about scandals. "They also cast a harsh spotlight on the freewheeling pay-for-information culture of the British media," noted the New York Times.
Newspaper columnist Art Buchwald said that "the days of cheap news are over, and now all the players have agents." Consequently, newspapers which engage in chequebook journalism have to put up a lot more money than they used to. The witnesses in the Michael Jackson scandal were charging more to tell their story to the media than he was paid to give a concert. "Freedom of the press is much more costly than the public realizes."