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Journalism basics include accuracy, context

Context is key.

That’s among the first things young journalists are taught in J-School ethics classes. The lesson comes pretty much right after the importance of being accurate, fair and balanced.

Sadly, we learned by coverage of last week’s viral videos of a Washington, D.C., protest, how quickly videos can be taken out of context – especially at a time when everyone has a cellphone camera and social media can spread accounts (often inaccurate ones) in a flurry.

Add in national media’s race to be first in a 24-hour news cycle, and the risk of inaccuracy grows significantly.

I knew something was wrong when phone calls and emails started filtering in to my desk early Monday. That came largely after Fox News raised questions on a story being reported in other national media based on online videos of the weekend protests in the nation’s Capital.

By now I’m sure you know about the videos of a group of boys from a Covington, Kentucky, Catholic high school who had traveled to Washington to participate in the March for Life. Clips showed one of the boys standing near an elderly Native American, Nathan Phillips, who was beating a drum, surrounded by many other teenagers. Phillips was in D.C. for an annual ceremony honoring Native Americans.

The boy in the foreground, Nick Sandmann, was described as “smirking” at the Native American while his friends poked fun of the man. The video post went viral, and the story was picked up by the news media, including The Associated Press. The fact that Sandmann happened to be wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat led to the story gaining even more traction.

Condemnations poured in quickly, some jumping to conclusions that the boy must be racist. Officials at the Kentucky school promised a full investigation and threatened expulsion.

In coming days, though, new, more complete videos emerged, and we found that Sandmann had, in fact, done nothing to provoke the Native Americans. He never spoke, and later he said he didn’t know why Phillips approached him. He added he had been silently praying during the confrontation.

Developing stories indicated that demonstrators from a third group, this one of a black religious sect, had been taunting the boys and the Native Americans at the scene. Phillips had stepped between the students and the sect members in an attempt to keep things peaceful.

Were the boys making fun of him? Was Sandmann really smirking — or merely reacting nervously to the situation? At some point we may know the answers to those and other questions about the confrontation. But we already know that based on a short, cropped video clip and a few accusations, the teenagers were accused of vile, unprovoked misbehavior. In short, they may have been wrongly accused.

In a statement released later, Sandmann, a high school junior said this:

“I would caution everyone passing judgment based on a few seconds of video to watch the longer video clips that are on the internet, as they show a much different story than is being portrayed by people with agendas.”

That’s pretty profound for such a young man, and I suggest we all should take heed.

As part of the Tribune Chronicle’s commitment to accuracy and balance, we made a conscious decision to publish an updated wire story in a similar front page position the very next day. And we’ve continued to publish more wire coverage throughout the week, all carrying new details as they emerged.

It’s clear, now, that the shortened video clips were, indeed, taken out of context. And it appears to be likely that prejudice played a role in the mischaracterizations that occurred.

That this can occur in a frenzy on social media isn’t a surprise. But as experienced journalists, trained about accuracy, balance and, yes, context, we must do better.

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