Focus on ethics, alumnus says

By Julie Sobczyk
Alumni news staff

When Lyle Denniston was growing up in Nebraska City, he never expected to set foot on the University of Nebraska campus.

“When I was a high school students, I never thought I’d go to college,” Denniston says. “No one in my family had ever gone to college.”

But through hard work, Denniston, a 1955 graduate, made it to the university. He is now among the nation’s top court reporters.

Denniston has been a reporter at the Baltimore Sun since 1981. He covers the Supreme Court, and many reporters wait until he has reported his story before they write theirs.

“I go over legal matters,” Denniston says. “I tend to make the Supreme court my primary focus.”

I love legal reporting, he says, there is less interviewing and more research.

“I spend most of my day, three out of five days a week, doing legal research. The Supreme Court is very high on reading and research.”

Because of all the research, a reporter must know – and love – the law, Denniston says.

“One must be a student of law. It’s a highly technical beat, and it’s getting more technical all the time.”

Doing legal research makes him seem like a lawyer instead of a journalist, he says, he says.

“One must be a student of law. It’s highly technical all the time.”

Before reporting for the Baltimore Sun, Denniston had a variety of journalism jobs. He worked for the Wall Street Journal shortly after graduating from UNL. After leaving there, he was at Prentice Hall until 1963, when he became a reporter for the Washington Star. When the Star went out of business in 1981, he went to Baltimore.

At UNL, Denniston says he gained knowledge and the cultural awareness that helped him become a successful journalist.

“I grew up in a small town with a large family. Going to the university was an opportunity for me to spend time in what I thought was a large city. It was time to be acquainted with the world. It was very much an eye-opener.”

Through his years of experience, Denniston has noticed changes that need to be made.

“Students need a stronger sense of history and political science.”

One thing that frustrates Denniston about journalism is a lack of ethics, he says.

“I am troubled by not seeing a sensitive concern for ethics. Not to suggest that all young people are unethical, but it is not a concern to them.”

That problem can be fixed by forcusing more on ethics in journalism education, Denniston says.

Another problem in journalism Denniston sees is the poor image of the media.

“One downside to journalism is the increasing emphasis on celebrity journalism. We don’t trust the readers to get through the stories. We are moving form the issues to a more reader friendly journalism.”

As a court reporter, Denniston says he is fascinated by the legal aspects of the O.J. Simpson case.

He would cover the Simpson case just like any other, he says.

“When I cover criminal case, I immerse myself in the legal implications. Unfortunately for me, I’m not close enough to the trial, although I would like to do a series on its legal implications.”

Aside from his work at the Baltimore Sun, Denniston also teaches law at Georgetown University.

“I love teaching. I love the ability to learn from the students and what they are saying.”

To Denniston, one important part of being a teacher is getting to know his students.

“Students are wonderful. One should be open to them and grow with them as friends.”