The South by Southwest of Politics: DNC Ethics
I wonder about the ethics of convention journalism.
At almost every moment of the day, you’re bombarded by sponsors. Corporate, non-profit, independent. And why not? The Democratic National Convention is one of the great modern venues for free and public speech. And advertising, the right to advertise is also an important freedom granted by the First Amendment. (Which is why it’s more than a little shady that the cage set aside for protestors is being called the “First Amendment Zone.”)
I’m getting, and taking, a lot of free shit. Beer and pizza and burritos, some of which was fed to me by T. Boone Pickens. Buttons, pins, T-shirts, even a train whistle from Union Pacific. Breakfast in the morning from Qwest and the Democratic Party. I’ve got an entire pocket of my backpack filled with free condoms from Trojan. Those were being handed out within the Pepsi Center perimeter.
Is it ethical? I mean, really, can I justify it? I’m the first to go after a local politician for accepting contributions from lobbyists and corporate PACs…so, why have i had several drinks and a couple of cigars on who-knows-who’s (ahem, Brian Colon) tab?
I’m certainly a little troubled by it, the influence and attention that folks are able to buy, not just from policy makers, but from me. I’ll be posting video of T. Boone Pickens’ address to New Mexico’s delegation this morning over breakfast. There you go: feed the delegates breakfast, pour me coffee, and that’ll get you attention on our blog. It’s that easy.
But somebody’s got to pay for the convention, right?
I’ll tell you what makes me feel better about all of it. In 2007, I went to Austin for South by Southwest festival, which is kind of like the Democratic National Convention of indie music. The entire city is taken over. In fact, I didn’t even have tickets to the festival. I didn’t need them. Aside from the headliners, most of the bands, never full of fans and money, played shows at all the local clubs the same week. And most of these shows were free, thanks to corporate sponsors and party organizers
For example, cigarettes. Take as many free cigarettes as you like. Then, when you’re done, take as many packs of gum and breathmints as you like. Have a free Brand A beer, or energy drink, or CD sampler with BMW emblazoned on the front.
Would a music writer be unethical for taking as much free stuff as he can? Probably not. A food writer for taking a free sample at a farmers market? Hardly.
So, surely I’ve got an argument there. I’m not picking where I’m going and one’s got to experience the experience.
Nevertheless: All I’m taking home is a bunch of cheap, white-elephant souvenirs that I couldn’t rid of if I wanted (don’t worry coworkers; I’m actually buying good stuff for you). Foodwise…well, I’ll eat anything put in front of me. It’s a horrible habit from my deadbroke days in college.
Right! Now, I want feedback. Chime in and let me know how you’d deal with the ethical quandary.
Ooh! Colon’s on C-Span speaking on the floor during the roll call! He’s on friggin’ fire.
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August 27th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
well, if it helps, our employee manual says editorial department employees “may not accept any meal, gift or promotional item except with the explicit understanding of the Editor.”
So please clear those condoms with me before you use them.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
So maybe being one of those coworkers who’s calling dibs on some of that tacky swag I’m not the best person to chime in here, but I think you’ve got a great point about some of the issues we deal with. Should I be reviewing CDs that I purchased or can I go with the promos that the bigger labels send out? In an attempt to circumvent that I go through as many channels as possible for the things I review. Ask friends for new CDs they’ve bought, borrow them, seek out promos from big and small labels, buy stuff from local acts, and on and on. I think it’s impossible to expect us to completely unbiased as journalists because we are, first and foremost, human beings. It’s a tricky job to navigate all the freebies in order to get to the heart of what’s important, but again, as human beings, that’s what we have to use our intellect for. If you were only to post positive things about Trojan condoms or T Boone Pickens then you’ve crossed the line. But many of your posts are about events that are unsponsored, and there’s nothing keeping you from satirizing the ones that are. I got freebies to a concert last night, does that mean that I have to say only good things about it? No way. As a journalist it’s my job to say some of it was great, some was hokey and I have to disclose that I left before the end because it wasn’t my style of music. If I choose to write about it at all, which I have no obligation to do, whether I bought my ticket or not.
The fact that you’re aware of the ethical dilemmas that we face every day and welcome a discussion about them show that you’re aware of possible conflicts and trying to circumvent them. It’s certainly a different case to take a free breakfast at an event that you (most likely I’d assume) would have gone to anyway than to have an oil company do major reconstruction on your home while you fought for laws in their interest. Free condoms or not, if Trojan starts to invest money in Darfur you’ll be the first one to take them down.
August 27th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Judging by what I’ve seen from this weekend, I don’t think we have to worry about him using those condoms…
August 28th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Isn’t your salary paid through advertisements?
August 29th, 2008 at 1:15 am
That’s a good point.
I guess the difference here is that at the Reporter, I don’t actually have any contact with that side of things ( except for the regular terrorist fist jab with Dan, Marissa, Zach, Anna and Marcia and all them).
The only effect/influence they have on me is the same they have on the reader.
The Reporter’s ads were one of the things I looked at when I was considering this job. From the breadth and varieties of small businesses that advertised, the social causes that took out full pages, I got the impression that the Reporter’s sales team were a pretty ethical bunch. I mean, some of the alt weeklies I’ve seen have annoying 10-page car stereo sale supplements in the middle and another 10 pages of phone sex lines. The Reporter had none of that.
I don’t sit in on ad meetings, so I can’t tell you what the code of ethics is over there. What I can tell you is that I have yet to meet a soul who didn’t speak adoringly of Marcia Beverly.