Citizen McCaw documents the resignation of top editors and columnists at the Santa Barbara News-Press in 2006 over publisher and owner of the paper Wendy McCaw’s alleged meddling in news coverage. Without the reliability of experienced news reporters, readers began canceling subscriptions. Former editor Jerry Roberts who resigned from Santa Barbara News-Press stated in the film, “We’re in the truth business”. Roberts is not only referring to the journalists that quit the Santa Barbara paper, but all journalists, publishers, and editors, including McCaw. Before deciding to run the Santa Barbara News-Press, McCaw had no prior experience in the world of journalism. Perhaps her unawareness of journalistic truth caused her to run the story which falsely accused Roberts of downloading child pornography.
“The truth business” contains an ethical code. The SPJ Code of Ethics was written in 1926 and has been revised four times since, with the last revision in 1996. The four main ethical rules explained in SPJ include “seeking the truth and reporting it, minimizing harm, acting independently, and being accountable” (“Society of Professional Journalism”). The story addressing Robert’s affiliation with child pornography was published on April 22, 2007. The front-page article took Robert by surprise as the Santa Barbara News-Press failed to contact him for comments. The low ethical standards of McCaw were shown through her personal strike at Roberts and the entire profession of journalism. Like the code states, McCaw was not “abiding by the same high standards” in which she held to others (“Santa Barbara Independent”). What was McCaw’s reasoning for putting the former editor’s hard-drive through an extensive investigation? She was trying to find dirt on Roberts. This is one of the many ways McCaw tried to challenge or somewhat silence her enemies. The phony story on Roberts went against all main points in the SPJ Code of Ethics.
The documentary highlights many of McCaw’s threats, intimidation tactics, and lawsuits against her former colleagues. Although the story caused Roberts personal suffering, he can now be seen as an idol for journalism. Roberts resigned from his dream job as to not infringe on the SPJ Code in order to maintain his credibility to the profession of journalism.
