For most of my life, the standard of ethics in reporting “the news” dictated that personal opinions and agendas be kept out in the telling of the story.
Even the (today) highly vociferous and hugely opinionated Walter Cronkite held to that standard when he delivered his nightly report. All of his cronies in the business did, as well.
One of the reasons network news, newspapers (and to some extent, news magazines) are declining is that that standard has been thrown in the trash. The ways you can influence “the news” are myriad and subtle and go way beyond the simple writing itself. The choice of which stories see the light of day, the choice of wording in the headlines…on and on.
As a J-school grad today, you probably would not even be hired on if you lacked the appropriate political leanings and beliefs. Unless, of course, you were hired as the “token” for the other side.
Some newspapers have gone so far as to actively promote a single political candidate in the current election cycle.
Then there are the writers “making up” the news whose writing gets into respectable (or reasonably respectable) publications. Jayson Blair at the NYTimes, Scott Beauchamp at TNR. Such cases make it hard to believe anything one sees in print, anywhere.
So much for the fruits of agendized reportage.
Fox News’ insistence on “fair and balanced” gets a little tedious. If the fairness and the balance are there, “people” will notice without it having to be constantly emphasized and touted.
While the 24 hour news cycle has helped turn “politics” into a sideshow.
