As a Native journalist, I’ve watched the sparring between two other Native journalists, both from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The latest column is written by Chuck Trimble, a Lakota journalists, who has recently taken issue with Tim Giago, another Lakota newsman. Read Trimble’s latest column about the importance of morals and ethics and fact checking in journalism.
Trimble, who was recently here in Missoula, Mont., raised similar questions in speech at the University of Montana. Meanwhile, here’s an excerpt from his latest column:
“As a journalist I cannot be silent about experienced and respected colleagues who abuse the power of the press for self-aggrandizement or retribution. Journalists should not tolerate colleagues who show total disregard for accuracy, facts and truth in writing for publication…Accordingly, I feel I must criticize a recent column by Tim Giago in which he presents inaccuracies and untruths. Aside from the issues of fact and truth and ethics, this issue is of very personal meaning to me.
Giago recently published a column which was apparently meant to help justify the crusade he announced as the reason for his getting back into the newspaper publishing business – that of riding herd on tribal governments to keep them from ‘running roughshod over their citizens…’
Jodi Rave