The biggest challenge in journalism it’s a challenge for democracy overall today:
Martin Baron said
Highlights By: Balbir Singh Sooch-Sikh Vichar Manch
Points at Glance:
Outgoing Washington Post editor Marty Baron reflects on the state of American journalism: “It's really concerning. It's the biggest challenge in journalism today. And I think it's a challenge for democracy overall”. Martin Baron said in an interview with Judy Woodruff: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/
Martin Baron:
It's really concerning. It's the biggest challenge in journalism today. And I think it's a challenge for democracy overall.
We need local news organizations to cover our communities, to keep a watch on what state officials are doing, what local officials are doing, whether they're running the city council or the county commission or the school board or the police department or local environmental agencies, you name it, the courts, all of that. Who is going to cover all of that if the press isn't there to do so?
Who is going to provide the public the kind of information they need and deserve to know in order to be engaged citizens? Only the press can do that. And so to the extent that these institutions are deprived of the resources they need to provide coverage, then that represents not just a threat to our profession and our business, but a threat to democracy itself, and democracy at the local level and at the state level.
Judy Woodruff:
Well, certainly, another feature of what we have seen over the last year or so, Marty Baron, in all the press is a move, a cry for more diversity, more inclusion.
It's something that we in the press have talked about for a long time, but with this deep racial reckoning going on in the country, there's a call from inside newsrooms to be more — not only more diverse, but to give journalists of color a greater voice, more responsibility.
What do news organizations owe journalists of color, journalists who have not had a voice in decision-making before?
Martin Baron:
We need to cover the country in its entirety. We need to cover people in every corner of our country, people from — with all different backgrounds.
And it's important that we have — in order to do that, it's important that we have diverse newsrooms. We at The Post have had among the most diverse newsrooms of major news organizations in the country.
But there's still a lot of work for us to do, and that's been made clear by people who work on our staff and people outside of our organization as well. And I think that that is justifiable criticism. And it's something that we are working on to improve.
We need more journalists of color in more senior positions in our newsroom and throughout our organization. So, it's not enough to have substantial diversity on the staff overall. It's important that journalists of color be in the most senior positions in our newsroom.
And so, earlier this year — or last year, I should say, we named a managing editor for diversity and inclusion. That is one of the most senior editors we have. And we also dedicated a dozen positions to cover issues of race, ethnicity, and identity in America, covering everything from health disparities, to environmental disparities, to disparities in the administration of justice.
And that is — that was a concrete step forward, a significant step forward. But we recognize that that is not the end of the line. That's merely a step forward. And I would expect that, at The Post, we will continue to make progress in that regard.
Judy Woodruff:
Well, hand in hand with this, we are seeing a number of younger journalists will of color saying that they increasingly believe their work as a journalist needs to be infused with the fight for justice, which raises the question, how much can journalists advocate for a cause, no matter how good the cause is, and still do credible reporting?
Martin Baron:
Well, I think we need to be independent. That's our role here at The Post, is to be independent journalists.
We should cover race. We should cover injustice. We should do that through our reporting. And that's how we should approach it, is make sure that we're covering the subjects that are of critical importance to this country-America, make sure that we're doing it well, make sure that we're covering the important human rights issues in our nation and around the world, for that matter. Outgoing Washington Post editor Marty Baron reflects on the state of American journalism: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/
Martin Baron is an American journalist who has been editor of The Washington Post since December 31, 2012, after having been editor of The Boston Globe since 2001. He will retire on February 28, 2021, after eight years in the position. Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
Highlights Forwarded By: Balbir Singh Sooch-Sikh Vichar Manch
First Posted On: February 28, 2021, 12:40 (IST)
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The biggest challenge in journalism it’s a challenge for democracy overall today: Martin Baron said
