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Jan. 12th, 2012
Should The NY Times Print The Truth?
Jan. 12th, 2012 02:59 pmNo, really. They're asking.
Shame the comments are closed. I suspect they're closed because pretty much every one of them was a paraphrase of Are you actually asking such a stupid question?
Public Editor Arthur Brisbane even denigrates the idea in the very title of the article -- as if being a "truth vigilante" is somehow a bad thing.
THE ENTIRE FUCKING PURPOSE OF A NEWS ORGANIZATION IS TO REPORT THE GODDAMN TRUTH.
If you're not doing that, you're not a news organization. E.g., Faux Noise.
None of this He Said She Said. No Some People Are Saying. No Opinions Differ.
The Truth. Facts. Verified. If you don't have the facts, then you say why you don't have the facts. If someone makes a blustery statement, e.g., the President has apologized for the U.S., have him back it up with citations. If sources want to remain anonymous, print why they want to remain anonymous, even if the reason is, "Because our news organization would lose access if we didn't grant them anonymity".
Many commenters at the NYT page pointed out that, without the Times' reporters actually, y'know, fact-checking, most everyone can simply read press releases and have the same information, only free.
That means The Truth is a news organization's first, best product.
We want and need the damn truth. And, frankly, it's the only card most news organizations have yet to play.
Shame the comments are closed. I suspect they're closed because pretty much every one of them was a paraphrase of Are you actually asking such a stupid question?
Public Editor Arthur Brisbane even denigrates the idea in the very title of the article -- as if being a "truth vigilante" is somehow a bad thing.
THE ENTIRE FUCKING PURPOSE OF A NEWS ORGANIZATION IS TO REPORT THE GODDAMN TRUTH.
If you're not doing that, you're not a news organization. E.g., Faux Noise.
None of this He Said She Said. No Some People Are Saying. No Opinions Differ.
The Truth. Facts. Verified. If you don't have the facts, then you say why you don't have the facts. If someone makes a blustery statement, e.g., the President has apologized for the U.S., have him back it up with citations. If sources want to remain anonymous, print why they want to remain anonymous, even if the reason is, "Because our news organization would lose access if we didn't grant them anonymity".
Many commenters at the NYT page pointed out that, without the Times' reporters actually, y'know, fact-checking, most everyone can simply read press releases and have the same information, only free.
That means The Truth is a news organization's first, best product.
We want and need the damn truth. And, frankly, it's the only card most news organizations have yet to play.