By Bret McKeand
In this day and age of accusations of “fake news” and biased
reporting, it’s important for legitimate news outlets and journalists to take
their jobs very seriously.
Very, very seriously.
The ultimate success – or failure – of any organization (or
person) claiming to be journalists will come down to trust and credibility.
For that reason, The New
York Times took a bold step earlier this month – a step considered by some
to be a dramatic, yet obvious move by the 166-year-old institution that many
consider the journalistic gold standard not just for the United States, but for
the free press throughout the world.
The change: They eliminated the “Editorial” page header and
replaced it with “Opinion.”
A simple, but big change for sure, because it symbolizes the
newspaper’s effort to downplay its own staff-written editorials (themselves
very powerful and known at times to influence, steer or change government
policy throughout our nation’s history) – and instead, put a greater emphasis
on reader opinion.
Another big reason for the change, according to Editorial Page
Editor James Bennet, is to “signal what separates the work here from the news
pages of the Times.” In other words,
they want make sure the institution’s opinions don’t interfere or deflect from
the quality journalism appearing on the news pages.
Sound familiar?
To The New York Times:
You’re welcome.
Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA has long followed this policy and,
indeed, may have been one of the first newspapers to ever do so.
Newspapers have traditionally used their editorial pages to steer
public debate and decisions. It’s often been said the “power of the press
belongs to the man who owns that press.”
I recall sitting at a newspaper convention many years ago, and
having other fellow publishers deride my newspaper for not publishing
staff-written editorials. The concept at the time, was anathema to most
publishers.
Today, public trust in a free press has eroded to the point where
a great many of our citizens no longer believe what they read in a newspaper.
Any newspaper, even The New York Times.
A free press is vital to a democracy. No democracy can – or ever
has – survived absent a free press. It’s crucial for news outlets to do their
job properly, honestly and without any hint of hidden agenda.
The New York Times first introduced its “Op-Ed” pages in
1970. Along with letters to the editor, the page – normally opposite the
newspaper’s editorial page -- included solicited and intelligent commentary
from those outside the newspaper. The move caught on and quickly expanded
throughout the industry.
And even though the pages were clearly labeled as
editorial/opinion and normally always tucked toward the back of the paper,
readers still often confused objective journalism with the opinion of the
editor or publisher. It’s quite normal to assume the boss or owner of the
publication would influence the work of the reporter.
But when Joe Smyth, today’s chairman of Independent Newsmedia Inc.
USA, drafted our newsroom guidelines for then-Independent Newspapers, Inc. he
came up with a brilliant concept: There will be no staff-written editorials in
our newspapers. No “editorial page.”
Instead, our journalists focus all their efforts on quality
journalism that lives up to standards clearly outlined in our newsroom
guidelines: to report the news with honesty, accuracy, purposeful neutrality,
fairness, objectivity, fearlessness and compassion.
And to avoid any confusion – any hint of bias or hidden agenda –
Independent has always refrained from publishing editorials or staff-written
opinions. As our newsroom guidelines clearly state, we pledge “to use our
opinions page to facilitate community debate, not to dominate it with our own
opinions.”
Our “opinions” pages are clearly marked as “opinions” and give our
readers the opportunity to discuss and debate issues important to their
community. We provide the information. The community provides the commentary.
It’s always been important to us, that our readers trust our
journalism. We know our readers – our communities – often make decisions based
on the information we provide, so it’s vital we provide truthful and balanced
information.
We’re happy The New York
Times has followed our lead and changed its “editorial/opinion” page to
simply an “opinion” page. But unlike the Times,
the Independent’s “opinion” pages belong 100 percent to YOU, the citizens of
this great nation.
After all, the First Amendment isn’t simply to protect the press.
It’s to protect a citizen’s right to free speech – to have a public platform to
express opinions and engage in quality discussion and debate.
We take our role as journalists very seriously. But we take our
role as public servants and facilitators of community debate just as seriously.
The mix of opinions and thoughts of all citizens -- from every persuasion,
culture, political party and background – is just as vital to the success of
this experiment we call the American Republic.
Note: Bret McKeand is
president of Arizona operations for Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA. Bret began
his career with Independent in 1983 as a reporter for the Sun City Independent.
His roles with Independent over the years have included editor, publisher and
vice president. His is past president of Arizona Newspapers Association and
recipient of the Arizona Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists’ Order
of the Silver Key Award in 2013.
