Papers can save reputation

Many of our most prominent politicians have become darkly brilliant at navigating human weaknesses. The facts now have become what our clan leader says they are. And our “news” media either present such statements as pure gospel or patent lies. There is no longer middle ground.

The word “news” above is in quotes because that’s the term those media entities use, even though that’s misleading at best. What they’re doing sharply conflicts with the purpose of true journalism. True journalism is a mission after all, not a business plan.

True journalism relies on the proposition that facts—ascertainable, vetted and real facts—exist and can be presented honestly. The accumulation of actual facts stacked one on top of the other without any attachment to the outcome can allow a reader (or, yes, a viewer) to acquire something in the direction of truth.

True journalism posits that facts lead to truth. And the presentation of truth leads to trust.

The news media—newspapers included— have lost the trust of the American public. Confidence in “the media” is as low as it’s ever been. And in many ways we have earned it. The erosion of journalistic standards is not limited to cable news shows. Whether it’s the selection of which stories to cover or outright slanted reporting, most news organizations have work to do.

Newspapers, in my opinion, are best positioned to improve the awful reputation of the media because newspapers are best able to be conveyors of real information.

If we in the newspaper industry are going to restore trust in the information we publish— and nothing less than the future of the republic relies on it—we must re-affirm our core values.

On Sept. 13, this newspaper ran a column by Walter Hussman Jr., publisher of the Arkansas

Democrat-Gazette and industry hero, along the same lines as this writing. Hussman’s column contained a statement of core values that Hussman newspapers run daily.

Hussman’s core values not only set a standard for our industry, but they establish a value proposition for newspaper: If you want real information, pick up a newspaper.

will also formally adopt these core values and commit to them daily. They are consistent with our past practice here, for many years, but they demand even better from us in the future. We call on other serious community newspapers to do the same.

Our core values are: Impartiality means reporting, editing, and delivering the news honestly, fairly, objectively, and without personal opinion or bias.

Credibility is the greatest asset of any news medium, and impartiality is the greatest source of credibility.

To provide the most complete report, a news organization must not just cover the news, but uncover it. It must follow the story wherever it leads, regardless of any preconceived ideas on what might be most newsworthy.

The pursuit of truth is a noble goal of journalism. But the truth is not always apparent or known immediately. Journalists’ role is therefore not to determine what they believe at that time to be the truth and reveal only that to their readers, but rather to report as completely and impartially as possible all verifiable facts so that readers can, based on their own knowledge and experience, determine what they believe to be the truth.

When a newspaper delivers both news and opinions, the impartiality and credibility of the news organization can be questioned. To minimize this as much as possible there needs to be a sharp and clear distinction between news and opinion, both to those providing and consuming the news.