Damned if we do, damned if we don’t
The newspaper business has always been between a rock and a hard place. As a business you should always try to keep customers happy. But when it comes to news, the creed is to report without fear or favour.
That presents a conundrum. If a friend or client (or one of their friends or relatives) does something nefarious, it needs to be reported just like anyone else. That can lose the publication customers and even friendships. Yet if you ignore hard news and just report wonderful things, the newspaper loses credibility and respect and thus also advertisers and readers.
We’ve always been damned if we do, damned it we don’t. . . . contd.
