About Carolyn Bahm Expertise I can answer questions about what it`s like to be a newspaper reporter or editor, offer tips on interviewing techniques, suggest some useful questions a reporter should ask in different news situations, and talk about guidelines for good writing, editing, and news judgment. I also can talk generally about magazine editing. UPDATE: For some unknown reason, I've been getting lots of linguistics and sociology questions lately; please note that I am not an expert in those areas and cannot be of help on those topics.
Experience Twelve and one-half years reporting or editing for award-winning Mississippi newspapers; about a year editing a national trade magazine (Beverage Retailer); assistant editor for another trade magazine (Nightclub & Bar Magazine); 3+ years experience freelancing for BR, NC&B and Restaurant Marketing magazines; about 9 months as science editor for a university's public relations office (left for health reasons); one and one-half years and counting as assistant director of a university's publications department. Currently, I edit and supervise production for four major catalogs, a brochure series, the university handbook, the class schedule booklets and other annual projects.
Organizations belong to None related to this area of expertise; I belong to several informal writing groups, a ladies' investment club, and the PTA for my older child's school.
Publications The Daily Mississippian, The Wayne County (Miss.) News, The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, The Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, Beverage Retailer magazine, Nightclub & Bar Magazine, Restaurant Marketing magazine, and various other Mississippi newspapers and trade magazines.
Education/Credentials B.A. in Journalism at The University of Mississippi
Currently pursuing M.A. in English with an emphasis in creative writing
Awards and Honors Over almost 13 years, I've won everything from first place through honorable mention for my editing, writing, and photography in the Mississippi Press Association.
Question I am currently interning at an alternative newspaper in Tampa, FL and we recently got many complaints about a story we published. It was a joke about a writer who had visited a oriental restaurant and found political messages in the fortune cookies. My editor has now asked me to find out if satirical stories like this one need to be labeled satire on the copy, according to (1) legal and (2) ethical standards. Could you please help me sort this out?
Thanks, Meredith
Answer Hi, Meredith,
My apologies for the delay in responding; I went on a business trip and forgot to put a notification on my AllExperts.com page.
Regarding the complaints you received about a satirical article: I've seen this happen a few times at other newspapers, too. It seems to raise the most ire when a tongue-in-cheek article/column/etc. is not clearly labeled as satire or commentary. I think readers develop a certain trust in their paper and feel cheated if they are unexpectedly presented with an article that seems legitimate at first -- only to find out later that the writer was mocking something to convey a message in a memorable way (or just to have fun). And, in some way, they may feel snubbed a bit by the satire if there's a blurry line between reality and commentary; few people enjoy being fooled.
I can't advise you on the labeling per legal standards without reading the story itself. But, in general, if an average reader could skim the text and be fooled into thinking it's a true story, then you should label it as satire or place satire in a regular "opinion" spot in the paper (such as the op-ed pages). Ideally, the satire should be over-the-top enough so that it's clearly satire even if not labeled as such.
I would judge it ethically by the same standards. For example, Dave Barry's annual Christmas column gives a review of the previous year's big news events, but it quickly becomes so absurd that it's clear he's intermingling actual news highlights with his own brand of wicked humor and meanwhile making many points for his political views. To me, that's successful satire; you can't read it as anything BUT satire, it's enjoyable, and it is done to make a particular point.
FYI, labeling can be done in a reverse bar, an unobtrusive headline element, or even the use of caricature clip art to accompany the article to give it that "op-ed" look.
Does that help?
Let me know if I can advise you in any other way on this; I wouldn't mind reading the story itself and giving you an opinion based on that, too. You seem to be on the right track -- I recommend using labeling, placement, or, at the very least, a higher degree of foolishness to clearly convey the satirical nature of the beast.
