Te’o story a lesson for journalists
Journalists hold a lot of responsibility and shouldn’t take their job lightly, which is exactly what happened in Te’o’s case. While journalists are people and have feelings too, it’s our duty to investigate that what we’re writing is fact, and that includes death.
Katherine Johnson
Staff Columnist
After the uncovering of a Notre Dame football player’s elaborate girlfriend scam, the journalists that reported on the story have a lot of explaining to do.
The football star who finished second in this year’s Heisman Trophy voting, Manti Te’o, told reporters that he was in an online relationship with his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, who died of leukemia in September. Te’o, who also lost his grandmother in September, received an outpouring of support from both the media and his fans. That is, until the story was discovered to be fake.
Te’o claims he was duped the whole time, but his story isn’t checking out. But that’s beside the point now, because it’s a journalist’s responsibility to report an accurate story. While it’s disturbing that Te’o may have fabricated the story, this should have been caught by reporters early on.
I question the professionalism and reporting skills of the journalists that covered this story. This wasn’t a small correction, but rather a totally false story. Why weren’t these reporters using their detective skills, and at the least, looking for a death certificate of the fake Kekua?
Journalists hold a lot of responsibility and shouldn’t take their job lightly, which is exactly what happened in Te’o’s case. While journalists are people and have feelings too, it’s our duty to investigate that what we’re writing is fact, and that includes death.
Perhaps the only excuse for missing the truth behind this story was the reporters’ emotional involvement. Many times the media is portrayed as being uncaring or insensitive to those who have experienced loss, which could be why the reporters didn’t probe Te’o or his story. But that’s not an excuse for bad reporting.
Te’o’s story would have never gotten this far if one journalist had simply looked up the death certificate of the fake girlfriend. This small action would have prevented the scandal from growing. Furthermore, it wouldn’t have tarnished the reputation of several reporters, publications and journalism itself.
I’m shocked that such well-known publications, such as Sports Illustrated, could make what seems like a rookie mistake. In order to stay competitive, story after story was published about Te’o and his fake girlfriend, none of which were investigated, demonstrating. the danger of pack journalism.
VCU, as well as other journalism programs across the country, should always emphasize accuracy in a story. Sometimes one small mistake can discredit the whole story, as we’ve seen in the case of Te’o.
Journalism instructors should relay the importance of each reporter investigating their own story to ensure that the facts are right, instead of piggybacking off the work of other publications. Aspiring journalists should also be reminded of the responsibility they hold.
For VCU in particular, this may include requiring journalism students to enroll in an ethics class earlier in their academic career. This way, all student reporters are aware of what’s expected of them, while in school and at the professional level.
Rather than pushing to have the story out first, or duplicating a competitor’s story, reporters should focus on having a timely, accurate story. The integrity of journalism is at stake when mistakes like this are made. Regardless of the time crunch or emotional attachment to a story and its participants, it’s a journalist’s duty to have a factual story for their readers.
