On Wednesday, Jan. 17, Point Loma Nazarene University was the host for the “Report Card on the Media” event, which is presented annually by the San Diego Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). The purpose of the event is to allow newsmakers from the past year to turn the mirror around to the media and critique how stories were handled.
The panel included Xema Jacobson, a member of the Executive Committee Board of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority; Mayor Jerry Sanders; former San Diego city councilmember Michael Zucchet; and John Jodka Jr., whose son John III is one of eight military men charged with the death of an Iraqi civilian in the town of Hamandiya.
Jacobson began the discussion by talking about her experience with the Authority, which has been given the task of finding a site for a new San Diego airport. She said that overall, the media did a good job of covering the story, including the resounding rejection to Prop A on the ballot in November of 2006. She did say, however, that she would have liked to have seen more coverage of the entire selection process and more discussion on the “ballot language.” Her grade for the media was a B.
Mayor Sanders said his experiences with the media haven’t changed since his work as Chief of Police in San Diego, but that the amount of media coverage has grown.
“I’ve had pretty good relationships with the press since I’ve been in the mayor’s office,” he said. “By and large, I’ve been treated pretty fairly.”
He did admit that some media outlets have a certain point of view they are trying to express. He also acknowledged that it’s sometimes hard to get messages out to the public.
“The press has been a willing partner in that. It’s not always the way I’d like to see it, but I appreciate them being there and getting that information out,” he said.
In true politician form, Sanders offered a pass/fail evaluation of the media, instead of a grade, saying that they “didn’t fail.”
“I’ve still got two terms left. How stupid would I be to slam the local media,” he joked.
Zucchet, who was convicted but later acquitted of conspiracy, extortion, and wire fraud in 2005, was a little more critical of the media. He spoke of the often unfair portrayal of criminal defendants in the media, given its commercial nature.
“Newspapers want their papers to sell, TV news wants to get ratings, Internet sites want hits. You don’t do that by writing analytical, middle-of-the road stories, but by doing sensational, sometimes hysterical pieces,” he said. “This case had strippers, money, politicians and Las Vegas – a news media dream world. But the media in general does criminal defendants a disservice and tend to lean toward the prosecution. How are they supposed to report fairly when the prosecution is feeding them information and stories?”
Jodka had a different take from the other three panelists, in that he’s a private citizen who was forced to become a public figure. Speaking about the positive media support for his Marine son, Jodka described it as “going from 60 miles an hour to a brick wall.”
He had different grades for different media outlets. He gave the local print media a high B or low A, and said it did a good job of protecting his privacy. Radio and television got a C, because, according to Jodka, there were lots of sound bites that were inaccurate. He described the national television media as “woeful.” One of the more interesting points of the night was when Jodka mentioned that he felt like a commodity, especially with the national media.
“They were only looking for a sound bite or something inflammatory,” said Jodka. “Since I didn’t say that, I was shuffled in and out very quickly.”
He added that once he learned of those motivations of many journalists, he turned it around, “put on the four-color wrapping,” and was able to garner much financial support for an adequate defense for his son.
Unlike the other three panelists, Jodka was not used being in the media spotlight.
“It was a necessary disruption in my life. It was an intrusion, but it wasn’t necessarily painful. I was fighting for my son,” he said. “What’s painful is seeing your son go through the military judicial system.”
Following the grades, the floor was opened to a Q&A session from the audience, which consisted of mostly local media members, SPJ members, and students. The event was filmed by PLNU students. It will be edited and will air on Cox Channel 4 in the near future.
Eric Yates
Media Relations Officer
Point Loma Nazarene University
(619) 849-7186
eyates@pointloma.edu