Organization of News Ombudsmen
Encyclopedia
The Organization of News Ombudsmen (ONO) is a non-profit organization
that was formed in 1980. ONO membership comprises various news ombudsman, and readers' representatives from around the world. Both ombudsman
and readers' representatives are individuals who work for a professional news organization, and handle complaints that are received or come their attention. The ombudsman or representative attempts to find mutually satisfactory solutions for all parties involved.
, plagiarism
, conflicts of interest
.
Conference speakers have included David Shaw
, Los Angeles Times
media critic; British
historian Hugh Trevor-Roper
; Ben Bradlee, former Washington Post editor; ethicist Michael Josephson
;Dr. Roy Peter Clark
of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies; and Pulitzer Prize
-winning cartoonist Steve Benson
.
ONO's 2009 conference was held May 10-13, 2009, in Washington, D.C., at the offices of National Public Radio, The Washington Post and the Washington Bureau of The New York Times. The 2010 conference will be held May 12-15, 2010, at Reuters Institute, Oxford University, Oxford, England.
and problem-solving ideas.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that was formed in 1980. ONO membership comprises various news ombudsman, and readers' representatives from around the world. Both ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
and readers' representatives are individuals who work for a professional news organization, and handle complaints that are received or come their attention. The ombudsman or representative attempts to find mutually satisfactory solutions for all parties involved.
Purposes of the ONO
The official web site of ONO states that its purposes are:- To help the journalismJournalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
profession achieve and maintain high ethical standards in news reporting, thereby enhancing its own credibilityCredibilityCredibility refers to the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message.Traditionally, modern, credibility has two key components: trustworthiness and expertise, which both have objective and subjective components. Trustworthiness is based more on subjective...
among the people it serves - To establish and refine standards for the job of news ombudsman or reader representative
- To help in the wider establishment of the position of news ombudsman on newspapers and elsewhere in the mediaMass mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
- To provide a forum for exchanging experiences, information and ideas among its members
- To develop contacts with publishers, editorsEditorsEditors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors have so far released two platinum studio...
, press councils and other professional organizations, provide speakers for special interest groupsAdvocacy groupAdvocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...
and respond to media inquiries
Who Can Join the ONO
The ONO states that it welcomes all news ombudsmen, readers' representatives, readers' advocates, and public editors. Annual membership dues are $150.The Organization's Annual Conference
One of the ways that the ONO helps various professional news ombudsmen is by having an annual conference where members can share their experiences about difficult situations. This conference is held over two or two and a half days and is held in a member's city. The people who attend the conference engage in a discussion of news practices that are, or may be, important to news ombudsmen. The topics that are discussed are usually of an ethical nature, because news ombudsmen are more often than not concerned with the ethics of reporting the news. Some of the topics that have been discussed include coverage of minorities, coverage of sex crimes, the ombudsman's relationship to the news department, the use of anonymous sources, invasion of privacyInvasion of privacy
United States privacy law embodies several different legal concepts. One is the invasion of privacy, a tort based in common law allowing an aggrieved party to bring a lawsuit against an individual who unlawfully intrudes into his or her private affairs, discloses his or her private information,...
, plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
, conflicts of interest
Conflicts of Interest
"Conflicts of Interest" is an episode from the fourth season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Arc significance:* Garibaldi begins to work for William Edgars. In the process Garibaldi is reintroduced to his ex-girlfriend, Lise, who is currently married to Edgars.* The "Voice of...
.
Conference speakers have included David Shaw
David Shaw (writer)
David Shaw was an American journalist who was best known for his reporting for the Los Angeles Times, where he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1991...
, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
media critic; British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
historian Hugh Trevor-Roper
Trevor-Roper
Trevor-Roper is a surname, and may refer to:* Hugh Trevor-Roper , British historian,* Patrick Trevor-Roper , British eye surgeon and pioneer gay rights activist....
; Ben Bradlee, former Washington Post editor; ethicist Michael Josephson
Michael Josephson
Michael Josephson is a former law professor and attorney who founded the nonprofit Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics located in Los Angeles, California, out of which he operates as a speaker and lecturer on the subject of ethics...
;Dr. Roy Peter Clark
Roy Peter Clark
Roy Peter Clark is an American writer, editor, and teacher of writing who has become a writing coach to an international community of students, journalists, and writers of many sorts. He is also senior scholar and vice president of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a journalism think-tank...
of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies; and Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning cartoonist Steve Benson
Steve Benson
Stephen Reed Benson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. editorial cartoonist for The Arizona Republic. Benson is the grandson of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former LDS Church president Ezra Taft Benson.Benson attended Brigham Young University, from which he graduated cum laude...
.
ONO's 2009 conference was held May 10-13, 2009, in Washington, D.C., at the offices of National Public Radio, The Washington Post and the Washington Bureau of The New York Times. The 2010 conference will be held May 12-15, 2010, at Reuters Institute, Oxford University, Oxford, England.
Mini Conferences
Besides attending the ONO's annual conference, many members of the ONO often participate in small mini conferences which are conducted by four-way conference telephone calls throughout the year. The ONO's central office helps members by coordinating the conference calls. During the conference calls members can talk about problems they are having and swap view points on a wide range of topics that news ombudsmen deal with on a regular basis. The goal of the conference calls is to providing participants with support, counselCounsel
A counsel or a counselor gives advice, more particularly in legal matters.-U.K. and Ireland:The legal system in England uses the term counsel as an approximate synonym for a barrister-at-law, and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause, or collectively, the body of barristers...
and problem-solving ideas.
External links
- NewsOmbudsmen.org - Official ONO website (The website is also available at NewsOmbudsmen.com, NewsOmbudsmen.net and NewsOmbudsmen.co.uk)
- ASNE.org - 'The Organization of News Ombudsmen: Listening to Readers', Gina Lubrano (September 23, 1999)