Should journalists have opinions?
The departure last week of Helen Thomas from the White House Press Corps is an important reminder of what journalism really is. In these days of blogs, aggregators and analysis, it is far too easy to forget journalism’s mission: to report the truth accurately.
Journalists have a duty to report the truth without bias. For the most part, they do. Yet as offensive as Thomas’ comments may have been, let’s remember that she was not accused of biased reporting. It was her offensive views, in this case, voiced outside of her role as a journalist.
Are journalists not allowed to form and express their own opinions? Is that a reasonable expectation for the public or employers to have? That’s a tough question. For years my wife, a former Los Angeles Times editor, barred us form posting political signs in our front yard. She policed herself to avoid the appearance of bias, even though she did not produce bylined work.
While I was growing up, my mother covered numerous suburban city council meetings for the Times. She often referred to some city officials as “morons and jackasses.” To the best of my knowledge, none of that ever made it into print. Her reports were free of bias and opinion, and both sides of an argument were made.
That reporters’ personal opinions can cost them their jobs is a terrible and unreasonable result. Our society routinely accepts the ability to set aside personal beliefs in favor of the truth. Judges ask potential jurors to set aside their feelings and weigh the facts of a case by its merits only. Police officers are often asked to enforce laws they do not agree with. Teachers conform to curriculum and methods that differ from their own philosophies.
We expect and typically get no less from our journalists. If it took four-plus decades for Thomas to air her opinions, then she did one heck of a job while reporting the news.
Davis Barber is Editor and Publisher of FullertonStories.com
*
Stories about Thomas’ departure:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37551828/
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-thomas-20100609,0,4996898.story
Note: there was no story in the Orange County Register website.
_______________________
Updated May 28, 2010
Now is the time to vote incumbent in November
By Peter Weinberger
Politically it’s not a good time to be an incumbent. Which is exactly why we should help them. I think it’s time we start a bipartisan grass roots campaign and support the people who are making some hard choices through some very grueling years in American history.
But what do we do when elected officials stand up and make these tough choices? We vote them out of office.
The problem is people don’t like change. We didn’t like bailing out greedy bankers. Healthcare reform was passed, the war in Iraq has moved to Afghanistan. Voters are understandably nervous about all the zeros adding up in the budget deficit. But these were problems that had to be addressed.
Sure it’s easy now to point fingers. But were we really going to let all these banks fail? Do we give up on the war on terrorism? Most states are in a financial mess because of the recession. California for example has to cut the budget somewhere. There are no concrete easy solutions. Any movement to balance budgets will cause pain. Has anyone accused our governor of shying away from the state’s financial mess?
So whatever party you favor, it’s time to vote incumbent. Being a Democrat, you probably are agreeing with the direction most things are going. Our country has many problems, but think about where we were before January 2008. Even with high unemployment, there are many people who think things are turning around. Can you imagine where we would be if Bush was still in office?
If you vote Republican, no one from your party supported health care reform anyway, so why be mad at them? Most conservatives agree some form of a bank bailout needed to happen. The numbers are scary, but do you think the stock market would have recovered from the 6000s if nothing were done? And yes, even some party faithful have voted for the House and Senate versions of the financial regulatory bills to overhaul Wallstreet. That’s a good thing.
On the other hand, by saying “no” to most new legislation over the past 2 years, the party has held the line on many conservative ideals. Why punish them for being outnumbered?
So let’s move forward and vote incumbent. Since no great idea or cause can exist without a website, I went online and did some URL searching. Much to my surprise, voteincumbent.com was not taken! Actually voteincumbent.net, .org, .us, .biz and any other dot were also available. I guess this campaign will need a little work.
But I’m committed (many have said I should be), so I even registered voteincumbent.com. Don’t worry the fee didn’t cost much. It’s just starting the website will need some work.
All we really need to get started is a list of incumbents who you feel have done a good job guiding us. Politicians who have simply stepped up. It doesn’t matter what party, what location, or job small or large.
All I need is an email from you that includes this information:
- Name and position of the incumbent.
- The candidate they are running against in November.
- Why this person deserves your support in 200 words or less.
- A photo or link(s) with more information.
- Include your name, city and phone number. Phone number will not be published.
Send to pweinberger@claremont-courier.com. Once (if) I actually get responses, I’ll list them on the new state-of-the-art voteincumbent.com website that we create. I need a minimum of 10 incumbents to get started.
To be honest, I’m quite curious to see what happens. I’m willing to put in some work if people respond. If not, I’ll put this in my file of bad ideas. And of course you all know neither the Claremont COURIER nor myself endorse any of the incumbents listed.
It’s just time to stop the finger pointing and give credit to the people actually are trying to do something in these difficult times.
Peter Weinberger is the editor and publisher of the Claremont Courier newspaper in Claremont.
___________________________________________________________________
Fullerton Stories welcomes your opinion
We want to hear from you and give you a platform to share your thoughts. Please send your submissions to:
info@fullertonstories.com. You can also call us at 714-525-2671, or mail hard copy to FullertonStories.com, c/o Davis Barber Productions, Inc., 444 N. Harbor Blvd. Suite 200, Fullerton, CA 92832.
All Letters must be accompanied with a name that can be verified, along with a way to contact the author. Any material submitted may be edited for clarity.
__________
FullertonStories.com brings you news and features about the community, celebrating our people, our heritage and our diverse discussions of right and wrong. Fullerton Stories does not aim to sway your opinion. Instead, we want to enrich your day and offer information you can use to make your own decisions.
Thank you,
Davis Barber
Publisher
davisbarber@mac.com
714-525-2671
Personal Blog: http://davisbarber.wordpress.com/
Company Web site: http://www.davisbarberproductions.com/
Check for updates via Twitter: @fullertonstory
FullertonStories.com Staff:
Kiera Faye – Video Editor
_____________