Stringers – A Betrayal?

Stringers are part-time or freelance correspondents for the news media. Many prestigious writers have been found to depend on these correspondents in order to write articles that seem authentic, even without having to actually be on the scene of the event. Rick Bragg, a very talented writer for the New York Times was suspended because of his habitual use of stringers and then ended up quitting because of the pressure of his offenses.

The question is: Does it really alter a writer’s potential? In my perspective, as long as a writer has talent and can actually write something meaningful and knowledgeable, there is no reason why it should shock anyone. The stringers are on the scene and catch every detail that is present, informing the writer. Therefore, nothing is false, nothing is invented, nothing is exaggerated or off.

Of course, I recommend reading a piece by Bragg to actually understand. He wrote a piece on Haiti, and the precision with which he writes about the scenery, the people, the horrors… everything is very genuine and conceivable. I enjoyed reading it, and after finding out about the stringers… even if the article has or has not been reported by stringers, the finality is the same: he is a talented writer who wrote about a significant cause in the best possible way.

Of course, I agree with those that say that the best way to describe is to “be there”, get a feel of the environment, the people, the atmosphere… but a writer cannot always be present, and stringers are helpful. They are the ones who cover the area and capture it; the writer uses the information to create a meaningful article. So ethical or not, in my opinion, there are way worse offenses that can be committed by a journalist.