McCain Mayhem

The NYT's story on McCain's alleged affair has been questioned even before it was printed for its questionable ethics. However, as Kelly McBride, ethics reporter for Poynter, explains, the ethics of reporting on the story holds potential problems:

• If you start with McCain's denial of wrong-doing, he looks guilty.

• If you start with a statement that the McCain campaign was thrown into turmoil today, he looks guilty.

• If you start with the allegation that McCain's staffers were worried that he was having an affair, you make him look guilty.

True. So how should media outlets report on the NYT's story without causing further ethical dilemmas?

Here's an alternative structure: Give your audience the big picture. Tell them that the nation's largest and most prestigious paper published a long, complex story today, calling into question McCain's judgment on many issues. As part of that story, the newspaper revealed that eight years ago the senator's staffers feared he was having an affair with a lobbyist, who seemed to show up at unexpected times. Explain how news is originated and then repeated. Explain that many people have questions about The New York Times' approach. Examine the entangled relationship between journalism and politics. (McBride)

Follow that format to make sure everyone is getting the news they need, instead of continuing to smear either the Times or McCain.