NEWSROOM'S NORMAL ACCIDENT?

Abstract

This study examines 10 recent high-profile cases of journalistic deceptions at major American news organizations, and analyzes deceptive news and authentic news in a comparative perspective. Applying disaster incubation theory and normal accident theory to newsrooms, it focuses on how newsroom organizational culture contributes to journalistic deceptions. Results suggest that prior to the final revelation of a reporter's deception, an incubation period occurs during which a “first flag”—an initial warning signal often related to the reporter's earliest work that gives rise to suspicion of authenticity—is overlooked. The study also identifies patterns in deceptive news that distinguish it from authentic news. Deceptive news stories are more likely than authentic news stories to be filed from a remote location, to be on a story topic conducive to source secrecy, to be on the front page (or magazine cover), to contain more sources, more “diverse” sources and more hard-to-trace sources. It is suggested that editors might use these recognizable patterns to help prevent journalistic deceptions.

Keywords:

• fabrication
• incubation
• journalistic deception
• newsroom culture
• normal accident
• plagiarism

The authors thank Barbara Reed and Norman Lewis for their insightful suggestions. They also thank the students in the first author's graduate seminar in content analysis, Fall 2005 semester, who helped collect data used in this study.