New York Times Asks: Should Journalists Challenge False Statements Made by Policymakers They Report [View all]

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New York Times Asks: Should Journalists Challenge False Statements Made by Policymakers They Report On?


Arthur Brisbane, Public Editor of the New York Times, has a piece today asking, “Should The Times Be a Truth Vigilante?” The piece is generating some spirited discussion, so I thought I’d weigh in with my own answer to the question.

As Brisbane sees it, the underlying issue is whether journalists — more specifically, beat reporters —- should “challenge ‘facts’ that are asserted by newsmakers they write about.”

On the campaign trail, Mitt Romney often says President Obama has made speeches “apologizing for America,” a phrase to which Paul Krugman objected in a December 23 column arguing that politics has advanced to the “post-truth” stage.

As an Op-Ed columnist, Mr. Krugman clearly has the freedom to call out what he thinks is a lie. My question for readers is: should news reporters do the same?

If so, then perhaps the next time Mr. Romney says the president has a habit of apologizing for his country, the reporter should insert a paragraph saying, more or less: “The president has never used the word ‘apologize’ in a speech about U.S. policy or history. Any assertion that he has apologized for U.S. actions rests on a misleading interpretation of the president’s words.”

This comes up quite often, in large part because major media outlets have been embraced “forced neutrality” — it’s a newspaper reporter’s job to tell the public what both sides are saying. If you want to know which side has the facts on their side, go somewhere else. (The Washington Post’s Paul Kane is one of the more enthusiastic advocates of this style of journalism.) ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/762082/new_york_times_asks%3A_should_journalists_challenge_false_statements_made_by_policymakers_they_report_on/