This by no means discredits the good work The Post does. But news organizations will inevitably lose public trust when they pretend to be something they aren’t.
We are not simply disinterested defenders of democracy writ large. We are actors within that democracy, with a powerful megaphone that we can sometimes use in problematic ways. When, for example, paparazzi snoop on celebrities going about their regular days, are the interests of democracy being served — or merely the interests of the press in selling copy? The same goes for public figures accused of salacious activities that remain unproven: How well was American democracy served by rumors of a pee tape?
If the American news media wants to regain trust, we could stand to get off our high horse and be a bit more self-aware about our privileged and often troubling role in society.
Second, we are not in the “truth” business, at least not the sort with a capital “T.” Our job is to collect and present relevant facts and good evidence. Beyond that, truth quickly becomes a matter of personal interpretation, “lived experience,” moral judgments and other subjective considerations that affect all journalists but that should not frame their coverage. The only place where nonobjective truth can play a valuable role in the news media is in the Opinion section, which at least is honest and transparent about the ideological assumptions and aims of its commentary. If Downie and Heyward had only wanted more of that, I’d be all for it.
The core business of journalism is collecting and distributing information. Doing this requires virtues of inquisitiveness, independence, open-mindedness, critical thinking and doggedness in the service of factual accuracy, timeliness and comprehensiveness. It also serves the vital interests of democracy by providing the public with the raw materials it needs to shape intelligent opinion and effective policy. This may be less romantic than the pursuit of “truth,” but we could regain a lot of trust by paring down our mission to simple facts.
Third, the fact that objectivity is hard to put into practice does nothing to invalidate it as a desirable goal. On the contrary, the standard of objectivity is of immense help to editors trying to keep reporters from putting their own spin on things or excluding people and arguments they dislike from coverage. What Downie and Heyward dismiss in their report as “both-sides-ism” is, in reality, a crucial way to build trust with audiences, particularly in a country as diverse as America. It gives a platform to multiple views. And it shows faith that people can come to intelligent conclusions of their own.
Nor is it a serious objection to say, as Downie and Heyward suggest, that objectivity is somehow tainted by a white, straight male pedigree. By that absurd standard, we should also look askance at, say, calculus (Newton, Leibniz), or much of modern medicine (Osler, Fleming, Salk), or, for that matter, a journalism school named for Walter Cronkite. If newsrooms were previously insufficiently diverse, then surely the answer is to make them more diverse, not throw away their standards. It’s through hewing more closely to those standards that professional excellence and trust in institutions is maintained.
Bret Stephens
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