Muckraking vs. Buckraking

Some journalists who give speeches don't hesitate to take the money and run ...

Remember the days when Cincinnati SPJ would bring in a big-name journalist to speak a couple of times a year? A Helen Thomas, Susan Stamberg, Jim Squires, Tony Snow, or Barry Bingham? Ever wonder why you don't see us bringing in those kind of big names anymore?

Two words: Speaker fees.

Item: When your board was trying to bring in a National Public Radio personality to headline this spring's professional development seminar, we found out that everybody at NPR, from Bob Edwards on down, now charges a hefty speaker fee.

Item: When the board then considered bringing in Pat Conroy, who is writing a movie screenplay for Robert Redford about life inside the Atlanta Constitution newsroom, we found out Conroy's going rate to speak is $20,000.

Item: We investigated a number of other potential speakers and found out they all charge, too: ABC's Sam Donaldson charges as much as $30,000 for a single speech. The New York Times' William Safire pulls in $20,000. ABC's David Brinkley commands $18,000 per speech. Syndicated columnist George Will hauls in $15,000. The Washington Post's David S. Broder takes home just $5,000 a speech (aw, poor guy).

Something is terribly wrong here.

What happened to the days when an experienced journalist would happily travel to town for nothing except airfare and the pleasure of helping younger reporters learn more about their profession? Isn't that the very spirit of SPJ?

Now we've got the "celebrity journalists." Actually, these jokers are no more celebrated than their predecessors, the Edward R. Murrows and Ben Bradlees -- just more greedy. This crop has learned how to hire Hollywood agents so they can take the money and run.

A survey of speakers bureaus representing journalists -- Keppler Associates, National Speakers Forum, Cosby Bureau, William Morris Agency and others -- show national averages from $10,000 to $15,000 per journalist per speech. Ironically, the topic many of these speakers address is journalistic ethics. The word obscene doesn't begin to cover it.

Take, for instance, ABC's Cokie Roberts. Please. She recently took $35,000 -- a sum more than many in her profession make in an entire year -- to deliver an hour-long speech to a bunch of Toyota dealers. Being a member of the fourth estate shouldn't entitle you to owning four estates. Even if scandalous amounts of money weren't involved, there is something suspicious about Toyota having Roberts in for a private gab session. It's one thing speaking to non-profits, colleges or fellow journalists, but what does Cokie -- or any journalist -- have to say to a bunch of Toyota dealers that the rest of us shouldn't be privy?

Have any of these reporters actually been swayed by speaker fees, however staggering? Probably not. Could the public perceive they've been swayed? You bet. Lucrative fees, whether they come from corporations, trade associations or advocacy groups, constitute nothing less than bribes in the readers' minds. How could readers think otherwise?

There's no way any member of the public can ever believe what Cokie Roberts reports about Toyota, or the car industry, or any industry. She's on the market, for sale to the highest bidder. Whether or not there's a true conflict of interest is not the point. There's the appearance of a conflict of interest, and that's all it takes to crucify her credibility -- and perhaps ours. How does SPJ stand on this issue? The proposed ethics code states: "Journalists must tactfully refuse gifts, awards, favors, speaker's fees or special treatment." Sort of puts a dent in the Sam Donaldson family budget, doesn't it? (Notably, the language marks the first time ever that speakers fees are mentioned in the code.)

This may become known among journalism circles as the decade of the muckrakers versus the buckrakers. Just last month, NBC News took action, banning staffers from accepting speaker fees from corporations and trade associations that lobby government or take public positions on issues. The new policy also requires that other paid appearances be approved by management.

For his part, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) is leading a movement in Congress to require journalists to reveal their sources of outside income. When you find out that certain newspeople are taking hundreds of thousands from special interest groups to speak, you begin to see a method in Sen. Byrd's madness. After all, don't many of these same journalists demand that Congressmen reveal what they earn from speaking to special interest groups? Don't these same reporters imply in their stories that Congressmen are influenced in their votes by who gives them cash?

Ohio's Sen. John Glenn got in the best quip about this height of hypocrisy, while swearing in a new president of the National Press Club: "Do you pledge that you and your fellow journalists," Glenn facetiously recited, "will ue to demand that all politicians get no pay raise, reveal their incomes, and stop taking honoraria -- while steadfastly, sanctimoniously refusing to do any of those things yourself?"

Investigative Reporters & Editors has already weighed in on the topic of full disclosure on the part of reporters and editors: "People who make a living disclosing information ought not to be reluctant about disclosing information themselves," says IRE executive director Rosemary Armao. "Everybody [in the Democratic process] should be open to scrutiny. That is the spirit of investigative reporting."

ABC's media reporter Jeff Greenfield is one who absolutely disagrees: "I don't like the idea" of disclosure, says Greenfield. "I don't like telling people how much I get paid. " (We'll disclose that Greenfield pocketed $12,000 in exchange for speaking to the National Association of Broadcasters.)

20/20 reporter John Stossel is unique in this crowd: He raked in $160,000 for speeches last year, but to his credit, he's donated $135,000 of that to scholarship, hospital and conservancy programs. (Will he take those donations as a hefty tax deduction, we wonder?)

Of course, fat fees aside, where these speeches are given is equally egregious. These are nothing less than junkets: On cruise ships. At luxury hotels in the Mediterranean. On balmy beaches in Hawaii. The members of the Capital Gang TV show -- both print and television reporters -- shared $25,000 while doing a show at Walt Disney World.

Steven Roberts, a senior writer with U.S. News & World Report, has taken the lead in defending speaking fees. "This whole issue has been overblown by a few cranks. As long as journalists behave honorably and use good sense ... I think it's totally legitimate. In fact, my own news organization encourages it."

Oh, did we mention? Steven Roberts is married to Cokie Roberts, she of the $35,000 speaking fees. He and his wife, as a team, received $45,000 from a Chicago bank for a single speech.

Back to the search for a speaker at the Cincinnati SPJ banquet. At this writing, we're still hunting. If every single one of you chips in $300 apiece, we can afford to hire Cokie.

Now is that a deal, or what?

Felix Winternitz is president of the Cincinnati Chapter. He has given approximately 80 speeches here in Cincinnati and across the Midwest, and has never taken a cent in speaking fees. What a dope.