The Standup Syndrome

After reading “The Standup Syndrome” I certainly believe that the “No Attribution” is arguably the worst mistake to make in a standup. “No Attribution” refers to reporters often forgetting their journalistic practices when their faces and voices are on the air. As described in the article, “...that attribution sometimes disappears.” Stereotypes, slants, and speculations might occur during the 15 seconds of a live shot, or even a voice of opinion may be stated because the line is “punchy”. As discussed in “The Standup Syndrome”, “on-camera comments like these can damage credibility and make a thoughtful viewer wonder how reliable are the other elements in the story. "I think it's OK for a correspondent to have a point of view," says CBS News Washington Bureau Chief Barbara Cochran, "but not an editorial opinion." This view is similar to the points I made in my response to the “Seven Attributes of a Great Reporter”. Honesty should be crucial to every reporter’s values because if not, it damages your reputation and ability to establish credibility in your career. However, I will say that as a young, growing reporter, it can be difficult to learn and apply the “law of attribution” during standups or live shots. Every person has their own opinion, especially reporters, who spend time, energy, and resources to better understand a story and possibly its solution. To have that restraint during a live shot or standup to not express your view on the situation takes control and a deeper understanding of your role in the story. One of the other mistakes mentioned in the article was “Getting It Backward”. This mistake was described as reporters often writing their stories backward, beginning with their standups and then applying all of their elements afterward. This poses a problem in situations where some elements may change, decisions are still waiting to be made, or there haven’t been interviews or sources brought forth that could add to the story. However, the reason I believe that this is the lesser of the two evils is because stories can be developing, and you can always provide more context or information to a story, that doesn’t make it seem like you’re just stating your opinion in your standup.