Journalistic integrity is one of the cornerstones of a functioning society.
As we've moved into the era of social media, this gets left behind in favour of counting number of views. Unfortunately, that leads to a situation where headlines are used to grab attention and can be worded in a way that provides completely different information that the article attached.
For example, a recent story on the Citizen website is titled "Surveillance footage disproves B.C. coffee shop owner's assault claims." However, there is nothing in the article or video that disproves the claims. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The backup information aligns with the coffee shop owner's story. The only discrepancy between the two is that there is no audio, so the footage neither proves nor disproves his version of events. However, given the events that follow, the woman's actions align with the possibility she said the things he indicated.
By attaching a headline like this, you are including your own narrative, and moving away from facts. Do better.
Thank you.
Becky Buckman
Prince George
