Journalist asks: Do you or have you worked at a zoo or aquarium?

Hi:

I am a journalist based in NYC doing a story that deals with zoos and aquariums. In particular we are looking for opinions from people who will speak on of off the record about the methods and care and treatment of hippos in zoos and aquariums. We are open to discussions about all zoos or aquariums however in particular we would like to know about Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ.

Once we can "meet" online we are happy to tell you who we are so you can make an informed decision about further communications.

Further, if you know of situation at a zoo you would like to share in confidence please consider letting us know that as well.

We hold ourselves to the highest journalistic standards. This is not a front for any activists or anything like that. Please just send us a PM and we can go from there.

EVRYTHING YOU WRITE WILL BE 100% CONFIDENTIAL AND NOTHING WILL BE PUBLIC UNTIL YOU CONFIRM IN WRITING.

Thanks

 

Hi, welcome to ZooChat. What do you hope to gain from our information if we do decide to share with you? Are you gonna chop & screw our tales to help garner paper sales or views on your website? What is it you're going for here? You gave us some info, but it barely rolls up the sleeve. Maybe if you gave us more information we may decide to share with you. What is it in particular that you are searching for? Why is an NYC journo writing a piece on an aquarium in New Jersey? Then, you ask us to share other experiences. Why don't you stop hiding behind these extremely vague questions. Tell us what paper you work for and what this piece is about? It may make feel more comfortable to share with you.

 

nyc

thanks for your email. I am trying to create a safe place for people. I am sure plenty of people have plenty to say. So feel free to reach out.
thanks

 

If we need a safe place, obviously you're writing a slam piece or some other cooked-up journo fluff to slanderize Zoos. Why can't you journos just be straight-up? Instead, you act shady with your smoke and mirrors. Why don't you contact Zoos directly? Oh, that's right. They won't feed the machine. Kick rocks. All the best.

 

I am not sure what your rant achieves. I reiterate we would like to speak with people and hopefully some with reach out.

 

What paper, news outlet do you work for?

What is your journo piece about? What do you hope to achieve?

I asked a few questions and got the run-around. Answer the questions, please.

 

I work in television. And the piece is about proper handling of animals in captivity. Please do not troll and hijack the thread.

 

Was that so hard? A troll? Hardly. What TV network are you affilitiated with?

 

Sounds to me like you want dirt. The little nasty things that may or may not be true and/or completely opinionated. And why specifically Adventure Aquarium's hippos if this is about animals in zoos in general?

~Thylo

 

Preach! This journo wants to skewer stories for their own agenda for their employer.

 

ROTFL. Talk about setting the bench low to start with!

The book on "journalistic standards" would have to be the worlds shortest book.

Cheers Khakibob

 

If you want zoo employee inquiries for journalistic purposes, a forum site IS a pretty weird place to ask. I totally understand why everyone is suspicious, especially since journalism and even documentaries today are so sensationalistic.

 

Journalist......

If he wants to interview zookeepers, why not go to, oh I don't know, a ZOO?

 

Before working in a zoo, I worked for 15 years in a TV station, one of the largest in Australia. I was not a journalist, but I worked with quite a number. Some had rather poor standards and ethics (in my opinion), but others were very professional and held the highest standards of integrity.

To assume that all journalists are sensationalist tabloid hacks is the same as the public assuming all zoos are as bad as the Angkor Zoo, or GuZoo in Canada.

I am disgusted by the behaviour and aggressive comments made by some people in this thread. I'm reminded of the old adage "if you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all". Unfortunately, not too many people these days are interested in following this advice.

As to the question "why would you ask in this forum?" as opposed to going to a zoo, how do you know he hasn't already gone to a zoo and spoken to people there, and is now looking for more information from around the world to corroborate what he has heard (corroboration is what good journalists do). If I needed information on zoos from multiple sources, this is exactly the kind of place I would go to get it.

I'm embarrassed that a visitor to this site should be made to feel so unwelcome in only a few posts.



Hix

 

Lets be honest, just look at the various awards that journalists give to each other & why. The industry as a whole has a broken moral compass. The only "standard" is headlines, not balance or reality. You obviously have never been on the other end of disingenuous journalists. Are there any genuine ones anymore?

Did you not read your local press last week? A Walkley award winning journalist down here pleaded guilty to carrying a firearm on enclosed land. There may be more to come so I won't elaborate further, but I expect this behaviour from this profession.

Why won't sharks bite journalists?
Professional courtesy.

Cheers Khakibob

 

I think this person was pretty honest from the outset guys?, initially stated he/she was a journalist, not something else lurking, ie pretending to be a student fishing for information etc,.

I reckon they should have been given the opportunity to explain further before being shouted down. The others jumping on the shouting down band wagon is a poor show too.

If with further information received from the journalist a proper decision could be made as to whether to give them info on our experiences or ignore surely guys?

 

Journalist....

Sorry if I was unnecessarily rude. It does seem there is too much emphasis on what zoos might be getting wrong, and not enough 'ordinary zoo does a good job'.

 

In my experience the fault often lies with the interviewee for not accepting that the journalist has his/her own agenda. In fact, their editor has an agenda.
We talk to journalists wanting to believe that it will be about us and what we think. But it will not be. It will be about whatever the writer and editor want it to be about. We are simply the raw material from which they will build... something.

We have seen the new plans for the Adventure Aquarium's hippo area.
http://www.zoochat.com/22/lsd-hippos-dont-mix-them-355728/
It is not surprising that some media outlet would ask, "What is the impact of this on the animals?" Whether they have a pro-zoo or anti-zoo or anti-disco attitude, it is still a reasonable story. Where will it go? I suppose that would depend in part on what people say. But only in part.

 

Bob, you've obviously had a bad experience with journalists, and it's completely tainted your views of them. I can assure you there are good journos out there.



Hix