Fixers and Stringers

This week my post is going to be a little bit different. I want to talk about "fixers" and "stringers"and their role in foreign correspondent-based journalism. In case you don't know, a "fixer" is a native the foreign correspondent hires when they travel to another country. This person serves as the correspondent's in-country resource and guide. A good fixer will be able to transport, translate, and connect the journalist will valuable sources in a foreign country. A stringer is basically a fixer who has graduated up the journalism chain to contribute individual reports or even work as a freelancer for a foreign correspondent or news organization.

The big question is, how do journalist find good fixers and stringers? In some countries a fixer could be the difference between life and death, and so it is of the utmost importance to find a fixer that is knowledge and trustworthy. It is also important that a fixer/stringer is impartial, otherwise your story might be skewed towards one side. An example of this could apply to the current situation in Syria. If you're fixer knows members of the Free Syrian Army (rebels) that is one thing, but if they are actually in the FSA you may need to seek out a different fixer.

In my international news media systems class we had a candid discussion about war-time correspondents traveling solely with one side's armed forces. While it may seem practical to travel in that sense to see things from the inside and be protected at all times, it has been debated that stories come out slanted towards the sides of the correspondent's protectors. It has also been noted however, that war-time correspondents can impose good behavior on troops. Some argue that had their been such a correspondent with the group of marines who killed a village of women and children in Iraq in 2005— then the incident might have never happened.

One more topic among fixers/stringers is the idea of bribery. The ethics on bribery are a very gray area. In many instances correspondents will tell you its ok to pay a bribe to move yourself and your things through customs or a checkpoint, but if their news organization ever found out they would be immediately put on probation. It also raises a fundamental ethical principle of whether you and your fixer are paying for access, or paying for the information itself. That is where a clear redline should be drawn for every news organization and every correspondent. It is also a common practice for journalists to report bribes they pay to their news organizations to avoid foreign corruption charges.