![]() ![]() ![]() The former Washington Post executive editor’s discussed topics ranging from newspapers’ political endorsements to multimedia journalism to the challenges facing reporters who’ll cover the next administration during his free public lecture, which was the final speech in the IU School of Journalism Fall Speakers Series.ĭownie, who retired Sept. “If not, people could accuse us of bias.” “It’s important for me to have an open mind about the things we cover,” he told an audience Tuesday evening in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan)Īmid voters captivated by the upcoming presidential election, The Washington Post’s Leonard Downie startled some people in the audience when he announced he has not voted since 1984, when he supervised coverage of the Reagan-Mondale race. Film, Television and Digital Productionīy Greg Ruhland Former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie said journalists’ duties post-election are to “scrutinize the new president and Congress” as they deal with challenges.Governance/Tenure and Promotion Policies.This article is excerpted from his book “ All About the Story: News, Power, Politics, and The Washington Post ,” to be published by PublicAffairs this month. Leonard Downie Jr., former executive editor of The Post, is the Washington-based Weil Family professor of journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School. ![]() Today, especially, with all the accusations of news media bias, it is more important than ever for truth-seeking journalists to avoid all appearances of bias and to let their work speak for itself. I believe that should have disqualified her from continuing to report on the court, although the Times left her on the beat. She also acknowledged making monthly donations to Planned Parenthood. Decades later, in her memoir, “Just a Journalist,” Greenhouse insisted she had a right to march as a private citizen, separate from her role as a journalist. Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse had participated in the 1989 abortion rights march, in violation of the Times’s similar policy, even though she covered abortion issues at the court. I periodically explained in memos to and meetings with the staff how important it was to not compromise the independence and credibility of our news reporting.Īt the New York Times, U.S. Some of the journalists were unhappy, but it was the last time the policy was knowingly violated. Ben and I did not discipline them, but we forbade “those who forgot about this on Sunday” from violating the policy again. I visited the various newsroom staffs to remind them that it would be a violation of our ethics policy. In 1989, when I was still managing editor, some Post journalists wanted to participate in a huge march for abortion rights in Washington. I believe that my open mind made it easier for me to pursue and direct aggressive reporting that held all kinds of officials and institutions accountable. I wanted my mind to remain open to all sides and possibilities. As the final decision-maker on The Post’s news coverage, I did not want to decide, even privately, who should be president or hold any other public office, or what position to take on policy issues. I stopped voting when I became managing editor in 1984, although I did not require other Post journalists to do the same. The newsroom’s Standards and Ethics policy, which I strictly enforced, required our journalists to “avoid active involvement in any partisan causes - politics, community affairs, social action, demonstrations - that could compromise our ability to report and edit fairly.” That meant that members of the news staff could not contribute money to candidates, parties or causes sign petitions or participate in any of the many protest marches in Washington. From the book All About the Story: News, Power, Politics, and The Washington Post,by Leonard Downie, former executive editor of the Post:Īs Ben Bradlee had, I insisted on complete nonpartisanship in The Post’s news coverage and noninvolvement of Post journalists in political activity or advocacy of any kind. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |