An experiment in journalism goes off the rails, on the first day.
Kari Chisholm
"So it raises the question of whether the Oregonian is purposefully trying to pass off the front group as independent in order to mislead readers." - Scott Moore, Our Oregon
On Friday, the Oregonian launched a new venture in journalism called the Oregon News Network. The idea is a good one - combine the creativity and in-depth coverage of niche bloggers and independent journalists with the audience reach of a major news site. It's a win-win all around. OregonLive.com and its readers get more quality content, and the smaller sites get access to a much bigger audience (and $2500.)
The guidelines for inclusion were pretty straightforward. You have to do daily original reporting; opinion blogs (like this one) are not invited. And "organs for institutions such as government agencies, political parties, non-profits" are specifically excluded.
Many of the sites included are fantastic. BikePortland, Neighborhood Notes, the Skanner, the Lund Report and others are great.
But one addition raised eyebrows all over the place: Oregon Capitol News. OCN clearly identifies itself as "a project of the Cascade Policy Institute". And while their self-proclaimed "independence" as journalists is a matter of some dispute, there's no doubt: they're a house organ for a nonprofit organization.
Over at the Sockeye, Scott Moore is calling foul:
By definition, that makes the Oregonian's assertion that it's an "independent" news outlet verifiably false. The newspaper has printed guest opinions from CPI's Steve Buckstein often enough that it should know fully well who he and his organization are, so it raises the question of whether the Oregonian is purposefully trying to pass off the front group as independent in order to mislead readers. ...
So, given the more-than-convenient match between the right-wing politics of the Oregonian's new publisher and the so-called "independent" analysis of the Oregon Capitol News, we deem this statement Pants on Fire.
I suspect that the ONN project is actually a minor project buried deep in the news room somewhere. After all, we're talking about $17,500 in expenses -- and they haven't even bothered to integrate the project into their backend technology. (Each post looks hand-produced, and is authored by "Oregonian News Network" instead of the original author.) Heck, the BlueOregon news feed is a much more robust little news aggregator.
As a result, I'm inclined to give the Oregonian the benefit of the doubt. I'm hoping that they take this opportunity to review the News Network guidelines at a senior level - and jettison Oregon Capitol News as a partner. It's quite obviously a violation of their own rules.
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10:10 a.m.
May 10, '11
I'm not sure it is fair to call OCN a "house organ" for Cascade Policy Institute. This is what the OCN website actually says:
"Oregon Capitol News is a project of the Cascade Policy Institute, a 501(c)(3)(h) non-profit, non-partisan policy research organization. Although Cascade is a free market research organization, Oregon Capitol News functions independently and is dedicated to open government and transparency.
"All Oregon Capitol News staff and guest writers are required to abide by the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics. Additionally, criticism of the Oregon Capitol News’s output is welcomed and strongly encouraged."
It sounds to me like the intention is to establish more independence from Cascade Policy Institute in their operation and reporting than the term "organ" or "house organ" would imply.
10:59 a.m.
May 10, '11
A distinction without a difference.
And one that shows in their coverage. This story, for example, about the plastic bag ban utterly fails to communicate the other side of the argument or put the costs noted into context.
It's worth noting that Cascade is an active advocate against the plastic bag ban.
Oregon Capitol News is quite clearly not independent journalism, by any stretch of the definition.
11:11 a.m.
May 10, '11
True. Peter Bathia owes us an explanation, unless he's lowered the standards for his own reporters.
11:58 a.m.
May 10, '11
I glanced at some other stories and they clearly have an anti-government slant. Their piece on PPS compensation never mentions what school employees get in salaries. While they have a valid point, most people are unaware of what their own total compensation is; they only know their salaries and so the article gets them to compare their salaries with PPS employees total compensation. A neat trick, but not objective writing.
5:57 p.m.
May 10, '11
Agreed. Anyone who argues that Cascade is collecting donor money to pay people to write articles that may or may not be consistent with Cascade's mission has an uncanny and bankable ability to keep a straight face.
5:26 p.m.
May 11, '11
If Oregon Capital News had truly wanted to establish itself as a straight-up, independent news shop, doing so under the auspices of such a high-profile, politically and philosophically branded institution as Cascade Policy Institute is a pretty weird way of doing so. In addition to the formal affiliation with CPI, OCN’s political reporter has done stints with ideologically similar shops such as Heritage Foundation and the Cowlitz County Republican Party, and is still listed as a policy analyst on staff at CPI itself. I’m not sure I want to send you back to the dictionaries to look up “independent,” Jack, but, really….
11:07 a.m.
May 10, '11
Jack,
You gotta be kidding me!?!
The writers were recruited by Cascade, they are employees of Cascade, not independent contractors. And from the job description that I saw they are hired to pursue Cascade's libertarian philosophy in their work. Cascade owns the website.
If Cascade were a nonprofit that exists just to report news of some sort, like The Lund Report, that would be different. But they are a nonprofit that exists to pursue a political agenda of libertarian public policies.
What looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks like a duck is a duck.
12:00 p.m.
May 10, '11
Maybe Jack has read the boilerplate language Cascade puts on all its publications ("Nothing appearing in this document/commentary is to be construed as necessarily representing the views of Cascade or its donors. The views expressed herein are the author's/s’ own.") and fully believes that Cascade does not have an opinion on anything.
2:46 p.m.
May 10, '11
I just looked at a number of articles over at Oregon Capital News, any of which could have been ideologically slanted, and I thought they did a pretty objective job.
The ones I would note are:
Progressive state estate tax bill: http://oregoncapitolnews.com/blog/2011/03/17/legislators-look-toward-progressive-estate-tax/ and http://oregoncapitolnews.com/blog/2011/05/03/estate-tax-moves-to-house-floor/
Healthy Behavior Incentives grant http://oregoncapitolnews.com/blog/2011/05/06/committee-gives-green-light-to-apply-for-healthy-behavior-incentives/
House expands carbon emissions to greenhouse gas emissions http://oregoncapitolnews.com/blog/2011/05/05/house-expands-carbon-emissions-to-greenhouse-gas-emissions/
3:18 p.m.
May 10, '11
Like I said, while their self-proclaimed "independence" as journalists is a matter of some dispute, there's no doubt: they're a house organ for a nonprofit organization.
And that violates the O's own rules.
3:25 p.m.
May 11, '11
Here are two definitions of "house organ." The first, from Merriam-Webster Dictionary, simply says "a periodical distributed by a business concern among its employees, sales personnel, or customers."
The other, from the ultimate authority, Dictionary.com, elaborates a bit more: "A periodical issued by a business or other establishment for its employees, customers, and other interested readers, presenting news about the firm, its products, and its personnel."
I don't think Oregon Capital News qualifies as a house organ of Cascade Policy Institute under either definition.
11:17 a.m.
May 12, '11
From Oregon Capital News' website copyright and legal page:
So can you explain why we should take your word over Cascade Institute/Oregon Capital News' word about itself?
6:39 p.m.
May 14, '11
I find myself curious: just when did dictionary.com become the "ultimate authority"?
3:56 p.m.
May 11, '11
The Lund Report is itself a non-profit organization (here).
10:33 a.m.
May 12, '11
The Lund Report is journalism houses in a nonprofit like ProPublica, but not just investigative in strategy like ProPubica and it is focused on news related to health care in Oregon.
Unlike Cascade Policy Institute (and its Oregon Capitol News arm), the Lund Report as an entity it has no position on the Oregon Health Plan, does not have disdain for government, etc.
1:44 p.m.
May 12, '11
The (sic) "Oregon Capitol News" is the same group that attempted to link the West Linn-Wilsonville School District's attendance at a 2007 United Nations conference on sustainability to Animal Liberation front "terrorism."
oregoncapitolnews.com/.../teachers-administrators-and-superintendant-enjoy-cervezas-in-mexico-courtesy-of-taxpayers
They are not independent in any sense of the word, even by their own admission, and they most certainly fail to fulfill even minimal standards of journalism. Again, by their own admission.