Election has much at stake for democracy News reporters need to use language carefully

I am writing in regard to a recent article by The Associated Press published in the Marin IJ (“Senate GOP plans nominee vote before election,” Sept. 23). It begins, “Votes in hand, Senate Republicans are charging ahead with plans to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat.”

I feel that this is an example of an alarming trend — now frequently observed in journalistic writing and broadcasting. I believe there is subtle persuasion in word choice and images with the intent to frame a discussion in terms favorable to a position held by the journalist.

The reporter’s role should always be to report facts, not to persuade by the clever deployment of language.

The Republicans are “proceeding,” not “charging ahead.” The wording chosen here implicitly suggests the reporter’s opinion that they are proceeding unwisely and in an incautious, unjustified manner. Thank you, but it is up to the reader to draw inferences and make conclusions.

Reporters should report factual material or quote authoritative sources, from all viewpoints. It is now all too common that they do not.

Please take note: I may or may not hold or reach the conclusion espoused in the AP article. I object to the use of news pages to subliminally editorialize. The IJ has a page dedicated to straightforwardly serve that purpose.

When public figures speak of “fake news,” such reporting as this comes tomymind and, I am sure, to that ofmany readers. The credibility of the journalistic profession then suffers.—