Dominican Journalism

[NALs]

Based on recent (and not so recent) news articles printed in various Dominican newspapers where journalists either embellished or exaggerated claims this poll has been created. Such occurence has occured on various subjects ranging from the murder of the expatriot in Puerto Plata (claiming he had restaurants and such when his son stated otherwise on this site) to the most recent carelessness presented in the assumption that the US military was planning to establish a military base in the DR when in fact that was nothing more than a rumor.

The question is this:

Do you (in general) trust the Dominican media?

A) Yes

B) No

C) Not sure

-NALs

[something_of_the_night]

Can't trust any can media: Dominican, Mexican, and so on.

Okay, I'm a terra-rist now.

[skyblue]

absolutely NOT!!!

[tjmurray]

I feel like you have take journalism in the Dominican Republic with a grain of salt. Unfortunately, journalists are not free to write investigative stories in order to uncover corruption. The country is small and many people are linked so an investigative story about some politician could mean being terminated. The worst part is that journalists are given gifts by politicians. I did an internship last year with CDN canal 37 and we were sent to the Camara de Diputados on many occasions. This is where representatives of different sectors of the country supposedly make decisions. What they really do is talk on their cell phone and eat snacks. Well, all the journalists and politicans are real chummy inside the Camara, a little too chummy if you ask me. Basically, a journalist's salary in the DR is between RD$10,00-15,000, with RD$15,000 being cosidered very good. Needless to say, with a salary so low, a few "extra" pesos for some politicans helps out a lot. Obviously, if you risk losing your job and some free money, no journalist in the DR is really gonna uncover the dirt!

[aegap]

I'm still waiting on that 16,000 job creating Chinese Vans producing plant..

Chinese Van Company to Open Shop in Boca Chica's FTZ

[Don Juan]

What irks me the most about articles in DR major newspapers ( Hoy, Listin ), is that they are so lacking in the essential information needed to properly tell a good, concise story that makes sense.
These so-called reporters do not adhere to a journalist's most basic premise and that is to tell: what, when, where, who, how, why,. Most of the times, I'm left guessing about any of these and trying to read between the lines, so to speak.
About whether they're on "the take", I don't know. But one thing is obvious: These people can put together a bunch of elaborate, hyperbolic,and flowery words, but they haven't got a clue as to what reporting is all about.
They should be punished severely for passing as news reporters!!!

[something_of_the_night]

Dominican journalism is an oxymoron, sorta like Article 1, Section 9, of the US Constitution.

[Chirimoya]

Originally Posted by Don Juan

What irks me the most about articles in DR major newspapers ( Hoy, Listin ), is that they are so lacking in the essential information needed to properly tell a good, concise story that makes sense.
These so-called reporters do not adhere to a journalist's most basic premise and that is to tell: what, when, where, who, how, why,. Most of the times, I'm left guessing about any of these and trying to read between the lines, so to speak.
About whether they're on "the take", I don't know. But one thing is obvious: These people can put together a bunch of elaborate, hyperbolic,and flowery words, but they haven't got a clue as to what reporting is all about.
They should be punished severely for passing as news reporters!!!

I totally agree. Many a time I've read and re-read the story, thinking I've missed the what, when, where, who, how or why, only to find they were never there in the first place.

My husband is a photo-journalist, so he is not guilty of any of this, but as a member of the CDP (Dominican Association of Journalists) we were sent an invitation to a course aimed at people who are already working as journalists, only covering the sort of basic journalistic principles and elementary writing techniques that most of us either grasp instinctively or learn on the school magazine. In junior school.

Then there's the woeful ignorance. The editor of El Nacional, for example, who doesn't know its mosques from its synagogues, and a TV reporter who thought that genetically modified and organically-grown food was the same thing.

There are some exceptions. Some writers are clearly urbane and literate, although being in Spanish it is almost always too wordy and circumlocuted for my taste.

[A.Hidalgo]

Originally Posted by Chirimoya

I totally agree. Many a time I've read and re-read the story, thinking I've missed the what, when, where, who, how or why, only to find they were never there in the first place.

My husband is a photo-journalist, so he is not guilty of any of this, but as a member of the CDP (Dominican Association of Journalists) we were sent an invitation to a course aimed at people who are already working as journalists, only covering the sort of basic journalistic principles and elementary writing techniques that most of us either grasp instinctively or learn on the school magazine. In junior school.

Then there's the woeful ignorance. The editor of El Nacional, for example, who doesn't know its mosques from its synagogues, and a TV reporter who thought that genetically modified and organically-grown food was the same thing.

There are some exceptions. Some writers are clearly urbane and literate, although being in Spanish it is almost always too wordy and circumlocuted for my taste.

De acuerdo. What I try to do is research 3 or 4 different Dominican papers for the same story. Then I try to figure out what is what and finally I still can't make heads or tails of it.lol

[Robert]

At DR1 we have to read the same story in 4-5 newspapers to get a feeling of what's the truth. Even then, you often have to phone around and refer to other resources to complete the story.

I think this is one of the reasons why so many bilingual Dominicans subscribe to our daily news, it's concise and usually the "real" story.