Houston, – At KPRC 2 News, we are committed to transparent and objective reporting, and to amplifying the voices within our community through our daily work. In our newsroom, we strive to embody our core values of integrity, teamwork, innovation, and passion every day. As the news director, I take these core values and our mission of transparent, objective reporting very seriously.
In light of the ongoing discussion surrounding our recent investigative story on Cy-Fair ISD’s book revision policy, I would like to explain our storytelling process.
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Our reporting began with a Texas Public Information Act request to several local school districts regarding their book policies, a topic that has gained increasing attention. Cy-Fair ISD’s approach was notably unique.
The investigative team made several attempts, via email and at a public school board meeting, to engage with all seven trustees. The team also sought to speak with supporters of the policy change, but only those opposed agreed to speak on camera. We are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on key issues affecting our communities, though this can be challenging when not everyone is willing to share their views.
After the story aired, we received feedback expressing concerns about the use of historical footage. In response, I initiated an internal review of our process and approach to the story. While the facts of the story remain undisputed, we acknowledge that some elements may be perceived as inflammatory and could detract from the core issue. As journalists, our responsibility is to accurately represent facts and information, but I recognize the trust in our work can be undermined by such distractions.
We have since reached out to Cy-Fair residents who expressed concerns and have extended another invitation to interview CFISD board members. We are awaiting their response and hope to develop a comprehensive follow-up story on this issue. We have also extended an invitation to meet with lawmakers who reached out to KPRC to have a better understanding of their concerns. After weighing all options we have made the decision to remove the video story from Click2Houston.com and our YouTube channel.
Our Next Steps
Following my review of our storytelling process, it’s clear we must continue to evolve our process to reaffirm our commitment to transparency:
- All stories on polarizing topics will be reviewed by the news director before publication.
- We will enhance our editorial review process to include more diverse voices from our newsroom as a form of quality assurance.
- We will continue internal discussions with all journalists about the importance of tone, language, and video usage.
- We will increase transparency with our audience by adopting a more process-oriented reporting style.
- In addition to these steps, everyone will continue participating in our ongoing ethics, policy, and legal training each year.
