Politico founder, Washington Post reporter stress importance of credible journalism in supercharged election season
In the midst of a supercharged election season, Americans have been bombarded with a viciously fast-paced, never-ending news cycle and are reeling from a chaotic presidential debate.
In a virtual event presented by the Rochester Beacon on Oct. 6, Politico founder and reporter John Harris, and Washington Post investigative reporter Tom Hamburger, discussed how now more than ever America needs credible national and local journalism to cut through the noise.
The two Washington reporters grew up in suburbs of Rochester, New York, so they are familiar with the role of the local paper. Club member Peter Lovenheim, the Rochester Beacon's Washington correspondent, invited Club members to participate in the event, which was open to the public.
“Somebody earlier today was asking me about October surprises,” Harris said. “We’ve probably had a half-dozen just since the month got going – with President Trump’s illness, with the craziness of the debate the other night – and we may yet have more surprises to come.”
Hamburger added that between the coronavirus pandemic, the president’s tax reports, unrest due to the death of George Floyd, the Supreme Court opening, and fires in the West, “any one of them would have dominated discussion and could have been a centerpiece of a past presidential debate.”
Harris noted that as Americans are saturated with information, we are going to have to become accustomed to how to distinguish between issues that seem huge in the moment and matters that are truly impactful.
“I think journalism and news organizations have a critical role in helping an audience distinguish between what’s of lasting importance, and what’s of momentary importance,” he added.
However, as moderator of the event and publisher of the Beacon Alex Zapesochny noted, for some, trust in news sources to make that determination has eroded due to a perception that objective journalism has given way to political bias.
“This credibility issue is huge right now,” Hamburger said, “not only because we’re being disparaged as a source of fake news, but because in fact there is a new element of political sympathy and bias that shows up in news columns and particularly in broadcast these days – and I’m concerned about it.”
Harris believes that there may be a historic change underway in news media involving basic assumptions that he and Hamburger were taught by an earlier generation, including that news organizations should report the news in a facts-driven way.
“Increasingly we’ve seen people put news through an ideological prism. That’s what Fox News does, that’s what MSNBC does, and in that model you don’t necessarily agree on what the relevant facts are. I don’t like it,” Harris said.
While Harris believes that it is not possible to achieve perfect objectivity, he says that journalists should fairly present the best version of the facts, so that there can be public discourse about them.
He further noted that social media encourages news personalities to infuse opinion. “You don’t get a million followers by being sober and detached, you get those by being in the fight,” Harris said.
Additionally, news outlets relying on advertising dollars as opposed to generating subscription income from compelling content does not bolster objectivity.
“Chasing clicks isn’t a great way to produce great journalism,” Harris said.
The reporters stressed that local reporting is critically important at this time, and acknowledged the financial distress faced by local news outlets.
Hamburger recommended a public radio model of revenue generation through local subscribers and philanthropic contributors. Harris suggested a subscription-based model, that may attract a likely smaller readership but those that value quality local content enough that they are willing to pay well for it.
Referencing recent local coverage in Minneapolis of George Floyd’s death, Harris said: “The city and the state went into total turmoil and that underscores why it’s important to have [local] first-rate reporting. Big events happen, and responsible citizens want to know what’s going on in their communities, with professional and enlightened journalism.”