A study by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic which highlights the questionable ethics of “news release journalism” has been featured on the website of the influential Center for Media and Democracy based in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

 

Mr Peter Simmons, a lecturer in organisational communication at CSU’s School of Communication, defines “news release journalism” as the printing or broadcasting of information issued in media releases without checking the source, seeking other opinions, or disclosing the source of the information.

 

“Consumers of media rely on journalists and media organisations to present information from many sources. If the sources have a vested interest we need to be told,” Mr Simmons explained.

 

“When the content of public relations (PR) news releases is simply re-hashed as ‘news’ without critical evaluation or disclosure of source then the public is misled.

 

“Journalists and editors don’t like their news to be seen to come from public relations. So news release material created by PR people can be incorporated into daily news presentation without consumers knowing,” he said.

 

In 2006 an Australian Press Council study of 2 448 articles from 14 newspapers found that just 4.9% cited PR as a source. Other studies suggest that the actual number of stories coming from public relations is much higher.

 

“Journalists are taught that media releases should only ever be considered as a starting point for a story. They’re taught to question the motives of the entity issuing the release,” Mr Simmons said. “When editors and journalists use but don’t disclose the source of the news release material, it acquires the implied credibility of the news organisation.

 

“In my work with Dr Edward Spence, from CSU’s Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics based in Canberra, we argue that media release journalism represents ethically objectionable practice by journalists and news organisations, even if the material is accurate and true. It is ethically objectionable because journalists knowingly present information to the public from a source of lesser objectivity and credibility than news that is prepared and created by journalists. The audience is deceived into thinking that news release content is news that is scrutinised and created by journalists.