TheAgitator.com
Part of the Problem
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008The Jackson Clarion-Ledger weirdly keeps referring to Dr. Steven Hayne as Mississippi’s “state medical examiner.” He isn’t, because he isn’t qualified to hold that position (a fact the Clarion-Ledger has published on multiple occasions in recent months). He holds no official position in Mississippi. He’s a doctor in private practice who makes his living performing autopsies for prosecutors and county coroners.
State officials have deliberately kept the “state medical examiner” position open for more than a decade so they can keep using Dr. Hayne–knowing full well that any remotely qualified doctor who took the job would be aghast at Hayne’s practices.
It’s not an unimportant distinction. The Clarion-Ledger neglected to ask any critical questions about Hayne for 20 years. It’s telling that in articles not directly about the controversy over Hayne’s practices and credentials, the paper has already reverted back to form.
I don’t know if it applies to the Clarion-Ledger, but lots of journalism takes as a presumption that the “official” story from government is the truth. That’s part of the reason that criminal accusations are so damaging: When a DA says we’re goes after someone with an indictment for something, the story in the paper tends to be “John Smith Is Being Prosecuted For X” and not “Two Cops And A Criminal Informant Claim John Smith Did X”. Unless the article is actually focused on calling into question the official story, the presumption is that it’s true, even though there isn’t yet any more reason to be that version than the accused’s version.
I think Mississippi officialdom have so often taken Haynes’ bona fides as legitimate (by accepting him as an expert witness, even in the face of evidence that he isn’t qualified and does poor work) that the media take it for granted that he is “official”, unless they are specifically doing an exposé on his fraudulent credentials and practice. It’s a form of “story fatigue”, similar to how a reporter will do a great article on how political polling is basically meaningless or deceptive (e.g. this USN&WR piece) and then the next week go back to acting as though poll results are something Moses handed them on stone tablets.
I think the local mainstream press is timid because it’s the path of least resistance. They will be timid with any public official until charges are filed. After that, they will feel on firmer ground.
News organizations are on a budget. It’s far less costly for them to be in bed with the government and get easy access to stories than it is for them to be antagonistic and be actively shut out by government.
That’s just another reason why bloggers are gaining ground over institutional news organizations. They aren’t part of that partnership, so they have nothing to lose by stirring shit up.
The local mainstream press are a bunch of pussies.