A word from the board
Dear ONO member,
It has been a difficult and challenging run of late in the news business. Against a background of ever greater economic pressures on journalism, the standards and accountability of journalists have been brought under fierce and often hostile scrutiny by politics and world events. It has meant a tough time for members, some of whom face existential threats. In this month’s newsletter we hear from Miriam Lewin, the defensoría del público in Argentina, of the threat her role now faces following the election of a new president. However, ONO exists as a source of positivity, hope and support for members so, as we enter 2024, there is also good news:
- Following a successful conference in London last June, the board can announce that the 2024 conference will be in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Membership continues to increase. We hear from two new colleagues about their roles and backgrounds.
- For the first time the conference will be held under a new name – the California Secretary of State has now given legal approval for the name to change to the Organization of News Ombuds and Standards Editors.
Thank you for everything this year, and we are excited to see what we can accomplish in the year ahead.
Margo Smit, president
Jack Nagler, vice president
Elisabeth Ribbans, treasurer
Chris Elliott, executive director
ONO Conference 2024: Cape Town, South Africa, May 15-18
The South African Press Council has invited ONO to hold next year’s conference in South Africa. The basis of the proposal, which was accepted by the board at its December meeting, is that the South African Press Council will be the co-host with Media24 and the Department of Journalism at Stellenbosch University.
The conference will be held at Media24’s headquarters in Cape Town on one of the two days, and the other day at the University of Stellenbosch’s Institute for Advanced Studies (STRIAS). George Claassen, who raised the idea of holding the first ONO conference in South Africa since 2015, told the board that Media24 and the Department of Journalism have offered financial support for the conference. The dates for the conference will be May 16 and 17, with the registration/welcoming on May 15, and the AGM on May 18.
George said that Latiefa Mobara, the executive director of the SA Press Council, is already busy building contacts to encourage the few ombuds in Africa to come to the conference as part of a theme to expand the ideas of ONO in Africa. The organisation of the conference will largely be undertaken by the SA Press Council, which is entirely independent of the government.
Argentina’s Defensoría role threatened by President Milei
Miriam Lewin writes: “On December 10, with the support of 56% of the population in the second round, Javier Milei, the so-called libertarian leader of the party Freedom Advances, became president of Argentina. The reasons for the victory of the extreme right option are the anger and dissatisfaction of the voters with the democratic system, unable to solve the problems of an economy with 150% inflation and 46% of poverty in a country with enormous natural and human resources.
Milei obtained fame as a guest of television shows and a provocative intervention in social media, using hate speech against state intervention, the public sector and progressive political options. He used a chainsaw as a symbol of the cuts in public expenses.
Most media have not supported Milei during the campaign. However, his strong predominance in social media has neutralized the influence of most opinion leaders.
In terms of media and freedom of expression, there are several signs that the government will target the free media. First, several civil suits against journalists were filed by Milei before he was elected. The media has already been banned from several public ceremonies such as the oath of ministers and the opera gala with foreign presidents.
The government announced that public advertising has been suspended for a year, causing severe economic hardship to all media.
The situation is changing all the time. We wait to see if Milei files a specific bill with the dissolution of the Defensoría in it. For the time being, he is eliminating the National Theatre Institute, and definancing the Popular Libraries Network, the Institute of Cinematography and the National Music Institute. This is especially relevant because these public institutions funded their activities with a percentage of the taxes paid by owners of the media, just like us.
Faced with this scenario, we are in a state of alert, concerned not only about our future as an organization, but also about the state of the media and freedom of expression in our country.
We will of course keep you updated on the latest news.
Thanks for your attention.
Miriam
New ONO member – Susan Wessling
Susan Wessling recently became the standards editor of The New York Times. She started at The Times in 1997 as a copy editor on the national desk and has moved through many departments and editing roles.
Aside from the work of daily journalism, she has been involved in recruiting and hiring of editors, projects to re-imagine the staff and the workflow, and various efforts to reinforce the principles of excellence and independence.
Susan has also worked on the business side of The Times, as a managing editor of the News Service and as the head of writing for the marketing department. When the standards team expanded in 2020, she was hired as the deputy.
Before joining The Times, Susan was an editor for regional newspapers in the United States: The Courier-Journal in Louisville, The St. Paul Pioneer Press and The Chicago Tribune. She lives in northern New Jersey with her husband (also a journalist), their two children and two dogs.
New ONO member – Jane Patterson
Jane writes: “The day the deals were signed to form the new coalition government in New Zealand marked my last as Political Editor for Radio New Zealand, a fitting end to twenty years of reporting from the Parliament. The following week I took up the exciting role of Director, editorial quality and training.
My family moved from the South Island where I was born to the capital city Wellington in the late 1980s, where my whānau and I remain. After doing a Bachelor of Arts (including Latin which laid the foundation for a pedantic love of language and grammar from early on) I went on to do a broadcasting journalism degree, then a stint in regional television in Christchurch before heading back to Wellington to join RNZ.
RNZ was faced with an extremely challenging situation in June, 2023,when it emerged a member of the digital team had made inappropriate edits to a number of online stories, including wire copy provided by Reuters. An independent review commissioned by the RNZ board found while it was the work of one person and RNZ journalists generally perform to a very high standard, the situation highlighted a number of weaknesses in structural, operational and editorial systems. One recommendation was the creation of this Director role.
My brief is give life to editorial policy and make sure our reporters and other content creators are confident, capable and able to meet the challenges coming at our sector thick and fast.
I am so thrilled to become part of the Organisation of News Ombuds and Standards Editors; to draw from your knowledge and expertise, and add to the collective efforts to make our industry the best it can be.”
New Year – new look?
As some members have noticed, there have been one or two problems with the website lately such as getting the donation button to work. While most of the problems involve the back end of the website, the ONO board thinks the site would benefit from an overall review and want to know what members think about what it needs and how it should look. One proposal by Jeff Brown, an associate member who has supported the website in the past, is that it needs a “theme update and site refresh”.
Jeff’s conclusion:
- Deprecated Theme Versions: currently using outdated theme versions. Updating to the latest versions is crucial.
- Overall Refresh: The website requires a general overhaul to align with contemporary standards. This refresh should focus on enhancing speed and search engine visibility, ensuring our site remains competitive and user-friendly.
However, the board does not want to undertake a programme of work that may be ultimately unpopular with a majority of members. Please let me or other board members know what you think within the next two weeks, what you would like to see on the site and what functions you feel it needs.
You can reach me at chrismelliott51@gmail.com.
Baltic public media ombuds compare experiences at media forum
ombuds from the public media companies of the three Baltic countries last month attended a panel in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on ethics in public media organizations. The panel took place at the Baltic Media Forum organized by the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT.
In the case of Latvia and Lithuania, the ombuds positions were established only a few years ago, while in Estonia, the institution has existed since 2007.
Anda Rožukalne of Latvia, Daina Elena Andrikiene of Lithuania and ONO board member Tarmu Tammerk of Estonia offered the audience a chance to compare the differences in mandate and approach of the three ombuds.
Some links to things that may be interesting or useful
Global Investigative Journalism Network
Nieman Lab
- Most readers want publishers to label AI-generated articles — but trust outlets less when they do
- Predictions for Journalism 2024
Columbia Journalism Review
Pew
- Black Americans are more likely than others to say they see problematic news coverage of Black people
The Guardian
This is your newsletter!
You want to share your own experiences or have reports all ONO members should know about? Let us know at newsombudsmenorg@gmail.com and we will include it in ONO’s next newsletter.
