New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Can we have an understanding? Journalists aren’t the ‘enemy of the people’
Which of these recent columns do you think drew the most response from readers?
A. Entering a new season in the pandemic with a paradox of despair and hope.
B. A businessman spreads seeds of goodwill across the state by giving each of his 25 employees $500 to donate to causes they find worthwhile.
C. Taking issue with Tiffany Trump’s remarks at the Republican National Convention that the “misinformation system” — the media — “fosters unnecessary fear and divisiveness.”
D. A momentous, historic week for women, from the touchstone of gaining the right to vote 100 years ago to the first Black and South Asian woman nominated for vice president of a major party.
If you guessed C, you are correct. People, it seems, love to hate the media.
“I see the overwhelming mass media such as CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, Washington Post, etc. as being extremely corrupt and willing to compromise news standards to promote their liberal views,” wrote a reader from North Haven.
“Unfortunately, the woke left have become today’s new journalists . ... They truly are not interested in reporting all sides but, rather, are interested in reporting the facts that support their narrative,” wrote a reader from Stamford.
“I read your tirade about Tiffany Trump’s very accurate assessment of the media at the RNC and was struck by the irony of your offense to it . ... Your pretense of objectivity is insulting and your attempt to excuse it in the name of ‘opinion’ is ludicrous,” wrote a reader from Norwalk.
On the positive side, it’s great to see engaged readers. Several who wrote truly wanted to have a discourse on the state of the news media today.
One of the things the volume of response tells me, however, is that we in the media have to do a better job of explaining what we do, how we do it and why. A vigorous media is necessary for democracy — we are not the enemy of the people.
I’d like to think Hearst Connecticut readers are discerning and savvy. Your reaction to a journalist talking about objectivity is in line with much of America.
“Many Americans remain skeptical toward the news media, questioning not only the quality of journalists’ work but their intentions behind it,” states an Aug. 31 Pew Research Center report based on surveys of Americans this year. “For instance, no more than half of U.S. adults have confidence in journalists to act in the best interests of the public, or think that other Americans have confidence in the institution.”
The first phase of the year-long study found that partisanship is the strongest factor in how Americans view the news media.
“Support for Donald Trump, who continues to strike a combative tone toward journalists, is another dividing line — particularly within the Republican Party.”
“Six-in-10 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents cite a desire to mislead audiences as a major reason why significant mistakes make their way into news stories, compared with about a third of Democrats (32 percent) who feel this way,” the report stated.
This startled me. That’s a significant number of people saying mistakes happen because the media wants to mislead audiences. That simply isn’t true. Every journalist I know is determinedly trying to get as close to the truth as possible — never to mislead, but always to inform.
That is our job. But with a lack of trust in the media, do you believe me? I don’t blame you for not taking one person’s word for it.
Newspaper journalists operate from ethics codes. Generally each organization will have codes laying out conduct, such as forbidding the acceptance of valuable gifts or favors in return for a story. (A cup of coffee is OK, a home renovation is not.) And then there are industry codes, such as the one from the American Society of Newspaper Editors now called the News Leaders Association.
Article IV of the code discusses truth and accuracy. “Good faith with the reader is the foundation of good journalism. Every effort must be made to assure that the news content is accurate, free from bias and in context, and that all sides are presented fairly. Editorials, analytical articles and commentary should be held to the same standards of accuracy with respect to facts as news reports.”
Article V deals with impartiality. “To be impartial does not require the press to be unquestioning or to refrain from editorial expression. Sound practice, however, demands a clear distinction for the reader between news and opinion. ... The American press was made free not just to inform or just to serve as a forum for debate but also to bring an independent scrutiny to bear on the forces of power in the society, including the conduct of official power at all levels of government.”
It’s important to note the distinction between news and opinion. What you are reading here is my column, my opinion. Opinion writing is not meant to be balanced — as a news story should be — and at times can be provocative. But it must be labeled.
“Articles that contain opinion or personal interpretation should be clearly identified,” the code states. You will see the word “Commentary” with my column and my photo so you can see who is saying this opinion. The same is true for other columnists, such as John Breunig and Hugh Bailey, Dan Haar and James Walker.
When we talk about the news media, it’s not helpful to lump television and cable news programs with traditional print newspapers and websites.
That’s because some cable programs do adhere to a particular point of view. Fox News and its commentators are reliably conservative, MSNBC is liberal. CNN tries to play it straight, but sometimes the way questions are phrased seem leading in a liberal direction. Viewers know the lens through which they are hearing the news. In a way, this hearkens back to the press when this country was born — it was partisan for more than a century.
But even knowing this does not excuse Tiffany Trump’s assertion that “People must recognize that our thoughts, opinions, and even the choice of who we vote for are being manipulated and invisibly coerced by the media and tech giants.” A reputable media does not manipulate.
The Pew Center research suggests that the “relationship between Americans and the media is not a lost cause.
“For one, the public gives the media fairly high marks for coverage of specific issues and events, including the recent coronavirus outbreak and the protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.”
Let’s try to strive for trust and mutual understanding. Let’s keep talking.