On This Day | The Enormous Responsibility

But,’ he said, ‘the discrepancies and contradictions are news, news to which the public is entitled. And insofar as we reporters don’t call attention to them, we are falling down on our job. Objectivity is a noble ideal; but it can lead to deadpan reporting that may make the reporter or editor feel he is being loyal to some obscure ideal of objectivity. What about his loyalty to his readers? The reader lays down his nickel in the belief he is going to learn what goes on in the world. It does not seem to me he gets his nickel’s worth if given no hint as to whether what somebody says is right or wrong. It seems to me an essential piece of a reporter’s equipment to be aware of his fallability. He must strive to be as right as he can and then HAVE THE CONFIDENCE to go ahead with what he believes is true . . . always conscious of his responsibility to his own conscience and, above all, to the customers who rely on him to give them the TRUTH.

1951-11-15 | Ward County Independent