Reporting job applicant lists elected officials as references

[Mr. X]

An applicant for a news side reporting opening included several elected officials among people who could be contacted as references.

That raised a red flag to me because an elected official's idea of who is a good reporter is different than an editor's. It also made me concerned that this person is too close to the people she covered.

Your thoughts?

 

[Breakyoself]

they may just speak to their character and professionalism, so it may be interested to hear their take, but it would concern me if that was all their references, and not in addition to co-workers or former bosses.

 

[Mr. X]

I'm pretty sure no co-workers or former bosses were listed as references, but I am not 100 percent certain.

 

[Breakyoself]

if that is the case, i would question why as well.

 

[Cadet]

they may just speak to their character and professionalism, so it may be interested to hear their take, but it would concern me if that was all their references, and not in addition to co-workers or former bosses.

Ditto. If the reporter is doing their job correctly, they should be seeing more of the elected officials, coaches, etc. than other reporters. There should be at least a boss or two among the references, though.

 

[HejiraHenry]

Possible this is merely a (semi-)beginner's mistake?

 

[Breakyoself]

perhaps, but if he ever applied for a job, he should know at least one reference should be a boss or co-worker or somehow who sees you in that aspect.

 

[Mr. X]

Possible this is merely a (semi-)beginner's mistake?

She has a few years of experience.

 

[STLIrish]

they may just speak to their character and professionalism, so it may be interested to hear their take, but it would concern me if that was all their references, and not in addition to co-workers or former bosses.

Ditto. If the reporter is doing their job correctly, they should be seeing more of the elected officials, coaches, etc. than other reporters. There should be at least a boss or two among the references, though.

That's an interesting take, Cadet. I guess you're right. But if the reporter is doing their job correctly, they're also probably pissing off those same sources on at least a semi-regular basis. I guess the question becomes whether the source is mature enough/has a reasonable enough understanding of our jobs to forgive those instances and realize that we write for the masses, not for them.
Still, if I'm hiring a reporter, I'd be pretty wary of someone listing sources (especially more sources than journalists) as references, unless they had a damn good reason. To be honest, it just kind of smells funny to me.

 

[swish]

I've listed coaches I've covered as references before. Is there much of a difference or am I hurting myself by doing so?

 

[Moderator1]

Was it Furman Bisher who used to ask Vince Dooley which student reporter he hated the most, and then go hire that kid?

Think about it.

 

[Lugnuts]

That raised a red flag to me because an elected official's idea of who is a good reporter is different than an editor's. It also made me concerned that this person is too close to the people she covered.

Your thoughts?

You won't know until you actually talk to the references.

It could be a case of, "She did a story involving me, and she was fair. She got to the truth."

Or it could be a case of, "She's my campaign manager's daughter."

Bottom line is -- the person hiring needs to do some "reporting" himself. It's impossible to speculate on what the situation is unless he picks up the phone.

 

[lantaur]

I've listed coaches I've covered as references before. Is there much of a difference or am I hurting myself by doing so?

I'd say that listing a coach as a reference is a mistake. On the good side, it shows an employer you can get in tight. On the bad side, it will make the employer wonder if you are too tight and won't write "negative" things about that coach/team (especially if you are going for a national gig). The bad outweighs the good, in my opinion,

 

[leo1]

i agree that sources (coaches, politicians, whatever) shouldn't be a reference. if all your sources are happy with you, you're a mediocre reporter.

sure, the source might just say [reporter] was very professional and courteous but who cares? while professionalism is important, the key is breaking news, no matter how you get it.

why would anyone want to hire someone just because he's nice to the people he covers? it's not the newspaper's place to hire people who won't **** off institutions it reports on.

 

[Mr. X]

I consider said reporter what used to be called a "Houseman," someone who would never report anything critical of those in power.

The first time I met her was when at an event in connection with some serious allegations against the school district.

She said, "The school board members are Jews and they'll take care of this."

(I think she also made a comment about because they are Jews they care about the district's students.)

As has been said many times before, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression and that was a horrible first impression.

Although said reporter is Jewish, it is unacceptable to me to attribute goodness to any religious or ethnic group. In part, her comment shows anti-Christian bias.

A case could probably be made that a news side reporter should never predict what will happen, especially a "good" outcome.

When her resume came into to the No. 2 person in our company, he asked me if I knew her. I said I did and shared the previous tale with him. Basically, even if she was the last reporter on Earth, she wouldn't be hired at our place.

I think her stories often show bias and a failure to try to contact the other side for a response. They also have too many mistakes for my taste.

However, she has won some awards, including a press club Journalist of the Year honor, and got lots of particular praise on a series of stories on the previously mentioned allegations against the school district, which backed the establishment's side.

 

[leo1]

I consider said reporter what used to be called a "Houseman," someone who would never report anything critical of those in power.

The first time I met her was when at an event in connection with some serious allegations against the school district.

She said, "The school board members are Jews and they'll take care of this."

(I think she also made a comment about because they are Jews they care about the district's students.)

As has been said many times before, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression and that was a horrible first impression.

Although said reporter is Jewish, it is unacceptable to me to attribute goodness to any religious or ethnic group. In part, her comment shows anti-Christian bias.

A case could probably be made that a news side reporter should never predict what will happen, especially a "good" outcome.

When her resume came into to the No. 2 person in our company, he asked me if I knew her. I said I did and shared the previous tale with him. Basically, even if she was the last reporter on Earth, she wouldn't be hired at our place.

I think her stories often show bias and a failure to try to contact the other side for a response. They also have too many mistakes for my taste.

However, she has won some awards, including a press club Journalist of the Year honor, and got lots of particular praise on a series of stories on the previously mentioned allegations against the school district, which backed the establishment's side.

you say "houseman" i say "idiot." it's all the same.

 

[fishwrapper]

I had a baseball writer list a (well-respected) GM as a reference, once.
That felt odd to me. But, it certainly got my attention more so than ASE Bubbles O'Hallahan at Nowhere Tribune Press Examiner.

 

[Ace]

What about an SID as a reference? I would never list one myself, but I have called ones I know to ask about candidates/possible candidates.

 

[Breakyoself]

mr. x, completey agree with your story and perception of the situation. and not to threadjack, but living down south I hear that "good christian" **** all the time and it pisses me off, because those people are suaully the first ones in the "intolerant of anything other than what they believe" line.

 

[spup1122]

I've listed the PIO of my former town as a reference because I believe to be an effective cops beat writer, there has to be a relationship between the department and the reporter. The PIO can testify to that relationship. Maybe that's different in my former community, though, because the scanners were scrambled and other than reports, the PIO was the only way to get information without that relationship.