The University of Wisconsin Center of Journalism Ethics will honor Milwaukee Journal Sentinel health and science reporter Mark Johnson with the Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics at a conference Friday. The Badger Herald spoke with Johnson about the award and his experiences in journalism.
We have edited the interview for clarity and brevity.
The Badger Herald: What was your initial reaction to being honored with the Anthony Shadid ethics award?
Mark Johnson: To be perfectly honest, I really admired Anthony Shadid’s work from afar, so I felt a little awkward to have my name associated with his because I do not kid myself: I am not in his league. But, I was very honored.
BH: What from your career history do you think prompted your nomination and win of the Anthony Shadid ethics award?
MJ: I did not know I was nominated, to be honest, until I got the email saying that I had won. I would just say that my editor, [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editor Martin Kaiser], who has worked closely with me on a lot of different stories, is a very hands-on editor. So I guess it is some of the conversations we have had over the years.
BH: Seeing as how the award is for journalism ethics, why is it important for a journalist to strive to be ethical and how would you say you satisfy that requirement?
MJ: It does not matter how good the stories we tell are; they crumble if there is no ethical foundation to hold them up. Virtually every reporter that I have ever met has had some incident early on when they realized the power of putting something in the newspaper. It makes a difference to people’s lives; it affects people. But maybe for my career, I can say that I have done it long enough that I have been able to learn from my mistakes and I have been able to learn more and more how to do it fairly and without hurting people as much as possible.
BH: The committee selected you unanimously to receive this award, how would you respond to that?
MJ: I really thank the committee for their decision. I am completely humbled by it. Wisconsin is a very, very good state to be a journalist in. It means a lot that the committee found something of value in the way I do my work. That is very heartening and gives me a good feeling going forward, because I want to be a journalist for a lot longer.
BH: What would you say this means for your career as a journalist?
MJ: Right now, I work in kind of a dream job. I really like the place that I work, and I have a lot of respect for the paper. It is very easy to get down on your work and find the flaws. When a story comes out, I think of all the things I wish I had done. I guess this makes me feel like my bosses here have faith that I do things with a sense of decency.
BH: Do you have anything else to add?
MJ: I am especially lucky because my wife is a long-time reporter as well, and I have had the luxury of talking through ethical situations with her. She has this extraordinary ability to be very clear-thinking about sort of difficult, muddy issues.
