The Story

Misinformed: The Disappearance of Objective Reporting

Jan. 3, 2011 | By Sharon Hartzell, DSJ Staff Columnist

When I read Curt Mills’s recent �"exposé” in the Virginia Informer on William & Mary’s Living Wage Campaign, I was sorely disappointed. The front page promised to reveal new, shocking information that would reveal the organization’s illegitimate roots and secretly reprehensible actions. I slowly realized, however, that that the �"truth” about the Living Wage Campaign presented in the article was not news at all; in fact, I had learned most of it from the LWC itself.

The article fails to live up to its advertisement as a groundbreaking piece of investigative journalism because it reports information that is already public. This left me wondering what, precisely, the article was meant to accomplish. I now think this is clear: by portraying the LWC as falsely secretive and underhanded, Mills attempts to color the public opinion of the movement.

The piece begins harmlessly enough, describing the basics of the LWC to anyone who’s been asleep for the past few months. It then proceeds to make a series of claims about the campaign that range from unfounded statements to one-sided assumptions. Here are just a few alternatives to consider:

If students are unaware that the movement is an incarnation of a decades-old campaign, it is not because the LWC is concealing this fact, as the article indicates. I attended the �"Workers Speak Out” event held earlier this fall, and the history of the LWC, including its roots in the 1990’s, was discussed extensively at that event.

The fact that KB Brower, one of the group's main organizers, is present at many LWC events does not in and of itself delegitimize the nonhierarchical organization of the LWC or the TLSC, as implied by the article.

It is clear that the students play a more central role in the campaign than the workers. This is not automatically attributable to apathy on the part of the workers. It is most likely that the students have more time and energy to organize than workers, many of whom have multiple jobs and families.

As far as I know, the fact that KB Brower’s thesis concerns, in some manner, the LWC, has not been made public knowledge. However, I respect the judgment of both Ms. Brower’s thesis advisor and of the Student Assembly which provides funding for the TLSC, and until they declare a conflict of interest, it is frankly none of my business.

To me, the one-sided content of this article clearly reveals its intent. The author may as well have declared his thesis as, �"I think your movement is secretive, misrepresented, misguided, illegitimate, and unnecessary.”

Though I am an opinions writer, I retain a deep respect for objective journalism. At the same time, I realize that it is the prerogative of the Virginia Informer and of Mills to abandon nonbiased reporting in favor of promoting one-sided opinions. Unfortunately, biased journalism has certain repercussions. To me, the Virginia Informer has compromised its history of fairly objective reporting on the campaign. It has certainly insulted some of its members. However, the most serious repercussion is one which resonates with the student body as a whole.

Whether or not the LWC achieves its goals of raising workers’ wages, it should – and has – had the added impact of inspiring thought within this community. Here, I present a shocking exposé on the William & Mary student body: we are capable of critical thought. I am not a member of the Living Wage Campaign, but that doesn’t make me apathetic; I have discussed the LWC with fellow students, and I can attest to the fact that many people, even those who support the goals of the campaign, remain critical of it. As students, we do not need our skepticism handed to us under the thin guise of �"investigative journalism.”

The article fails to fill the role of a groundbreaking exposé, and will likely be remembered as what it is: an ineffective ploy at delegitimizing the LWC, and an affront to those students attempting to form their own opinions. I hope that those who read the article will continue to seek relevant information, and
evaluate the LWC based on facts, not on the thinly veiled opinions masquerading as news on the front page of the Virginia Informer. In the meantime, news journalists can do us all a favor: respect our capacity to form opinions, and keep yours out of the press.

Sharon Hartzell is a staff columnist for the DSJ. Her views do not necessarily represent those of the entire staff.