The Washington Post suggests that newsrooms must shun ‘objectivity’ to build trust

Leonard Downie Jr, the former executive editor of The Washington Post and professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University recently attempted to make a case against objectivity in the WaPo

Your read that correctly, a senior newsman is now against objectivity.

The piece launches as follows:

“…Increasingly, reporters, editors, and media critics argue that the concept of journalistic objectivity is a distortion of reality.

They point out that the standard was dictated over decades by male editors in predominantly White newsrooms and reinforced their own view of the world.”

Even objectivity is being examined through the prism of race and being shunned attack because these standards were founded by Caucasians.

Will Downey Jr. also shun travel by the airplane, or usage of the light bulb or the telephone or the refrigerator, and other amenities because they were invented by Caucasians?

Downey Jr. himself is an octogenarian Caucasian man. 

Perhaps this racist act of self-flagellation is meant to appease woke groups in academia and the media.

How unfortunate that a veteran has become a follower of groupthink rather than a challenger who can enlighten everyone about the righteous path.

The piece continues

“…pursuing objectivity can lead to false balance or misleading “bothsidesism” in covering stories about race, the treatment of women, LGBTQ+ rights, income inequality, climate change and many other subjects.

And, in today’s diversifying newsrooms, they feel it negates many of their own identities, life experiences and cultural contexts, keeping them from pursuing truth in their work.”

While reporting it is essential to know all possible perspectives before arriving at the facts. 

If A slaps B, a report based on B’s version of the events is incomplete. Reporters must also interview A, witnesses, and those who previously knew A and B. Perhaps we learn that B was relentlessly harassing A causing A to strike him out of frustration. This isn’t a defense of A but an essential context to facts. 

This is a standard that should prevail for all reporting irrespective of the identity of the individuals being covered.

Downie Jr. then claims that under the leadership of editors such as Ben Bradlee, his generation of journalists began challenging the powerful.

He cites the Watergate story that he worked on claiming it “spawned widespread national investigative reporting that continues today” 

Downie Jr. claims that all through his career as an editor, he never understood what “objectivity” meant and didn’t consider it a standard.

This reveals why the WaPo has faltered so badly.

Perplexingly Downie Jr claims his goals were instead "accuracy, fairness, nonpartisanship, accountability and the pursuit of truth”

Does he not realize all of these lead to objectivity?

Downie Jr writes that he followed Bradlee by insisting that WaPo journalists abstain from political activity or advocacy.

But he forgets to mention that Bradlee himself was very close to JFK. Perhaps Bradlee's pro-Democrat stance motivated him to target Republican President Nixon who had won an election by a landslide, decimating his Democrat opponent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFREGIKn8To

Downie Jr. complains that the mainstream news media is coping with “digital disruption, along with increasing competition from misinformation on cable television and the internet”

What he is actually upset about is their lack of monopoly over the news narrative.

Downie Jr went on to unknowingly expose his bias by citing every overstated spurious claim usually made by far-left MSNBC pundits to claim that America is going through an upheaval.

“…discrimination against and abuse of women; persistent racism and white nationalism; police brutality and killings; the treatment of LGBTQ+ people; income inequality and social problems; immigration and the treatment of immigrants; the causes and effects of climate change; voting rights and election inequality; and even the very survival of our democracy.”

Downey Jr. then consulted with his colleagues in the business such as Kathleen Carroll, former executive editor of the Associated Press, WaPo executive editor Sally Buzbee, the San Francisco Chronicle editor-in-chief Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, USA Today, editor-in-chief Nicole Carroll, LA Times editor Kevin Merida, Claudia Milne, etc. to probe further.

They all refer to the importance of diversity of gender, ethnic origins, race, culture, LGBTQ+, etc. to replace objectivity.

Downey Jr. also recommends a diversity of economic, educational, geographic, and social backgrounds.

As always they exclude the most important kind of diversity which is the diversity of perspective.

This is because being factual is no longer the goal.

In the current climate, if they discover a colleague who is liberal but isn’t as committed to the cause, that colleague is harassed and purged out of their system.

Dissenting views are forbidden here.

These outlets are mouthpieces for the Democrats and willingly and knowingly carried hoaxes such as Trump-Russia collusion or the January 6^th insurrection or various other hoaxes about Trump.

Hiring a Trump supporter to the newsroom would resolve the problem. He instantly debunks all their hoaxes. But that is not the goal.

The goal wasn’t the report objectively but to force Trump out of the office and now to force Trump out of politics.

But they do not see this as a problem. In their mind, Trump is the problem and it is their duty to use all means possible to force him out of politics.

The only diversity is among left, far left, and socialist.

One of the experts said that journalists should not be activists. If this was standard most of the mainstream media newsrooms would be rendered empty.

Downey Jr concedes that  ‘some mission-driven operations might well choose to allow social media and political activity with their core values.’

He fails to comprehend that ‘mission-driven operations’ isn’t an anomaly but a norm.

Since matters have gone totally haywire we revisit the fundamentals

Objectivity is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “considering only facts and without being influenced by personal feelings or opinions”

Objectivity must always be the guiding principle while reporting.

Since it is humanly impossible to be completely objective because reporting will be tainted by perspective, the editorial team gets involved to ask the right questions to ensure that the content is factual as possible. 

Alas, objectivity is no longer considered an aspirational goal.

While claiming to prescribe remedial measures to improve reporting in the mainstream media, Downey Jr, unknowingly revealed the issues that plague it.

The modern newsroom is an echo chamber where each attempts to outdo the next to demonstrate their loyalty to the Democrat party and other far-left causes.

They have also developed a subscriber base that pays to be an extension of the echo chamber.

But they just do not see it and think they aren’t going far enough.

They are attacking objectivity which should be the basis and fundamental goal of reporting.

The self-righteous don’t have self-awareness and neither do they comprehend the irony of their claims.

As news consumers, you have no option but to assume all that you read and watch in the mainstream media is false until proven true.

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