Can irresponsible media reporting actually create a story?

wo recent news stories have me thinking about news outlets and their role in responsible journalism.

The first occurred last week, when reports began to emerge that actress Tatum O’Neal, a self-admitted addict in recovery, had relapsed on cocaine and was in rehab. Not only did tabloid fodder such as ET and TMZ jump on the story, but “legitimate” news sites did, as well.

In truth, O’Neal, who says she has been sober for a couple of years, had extensive back surgery and voluntarily entered a program where the pain medication she is prescribed is closely monitored so that there is no chance of the medication causing a relapse into drug abuse.

So, what appears to be an intelligent attempt to make a healthy life decision turned into eye-catching headlines such as “Tatum back in rehab for cocaine” and “Latest drug hiccup for O’Neal family.”

The second story was on a local news station here in St. Louis this morning. I was in the kitchen when I heard, “Up next, you won’t believe what happened on an area school bus, and it is ALL captured on video, exclusively on (our news station)!”

Of course, that got my attention and I made a point to watch. After a dramatic buildup, the “explosive” video amounted to nothing more than two middle school-aged boys getting physical with each other. It was not a fight, as the boys and their peers were laughing throughout the video, but instead involved some obnoxious pushing, rassling, and name calling. Were the kids being inappropriate? Yes. Disruptive? Yes. Newsworthy? No.

I, like probably every other person in America who has attended school and ridden a bus, have seen, and maybe even participated in, that kind of “kids will be kids” behavior. There was no evidence of bullying, abuse, or mob mentality violence.

The reporter said the mother of the child who took the video had contacted the school and the bus company. After reviewing the tape, the bus company issued a statement saying it looked to be nothing more than “horseplay.”

At this point, the objective news anchor gives the camera a long, incredulous look.

From appearances at this point, both incidents seem to reflect poor examples of responsible journalism, choosing to jump on the sensationalist bandwagon rather than getting the full story. I have to wonder how seeing tabloid-style headlines made O’Neal, still in the early stages of recovery, feel. What kind of attention are the two students on the school bus getting this morning, knowing that thousands of people in the area saw the “incident” on their television screens?

I think I will choose to make these examples serve as a gentle reminder to me of my job description when covering news.

My job is not to “create” a story to increase readership or ratings