Ben Smith's recent and very informative essay in the Times about the revolts erupting in America's newsrooms helps us to understand the character of the proposed changes. The journalists Smith quotes and paraphrases believe that "fairness on issues from race to Donald Trump requires clear moral calls." That news organizations need to be devoted to "the truth" rather than some spurious ideal of "objectivity." That in all things "moral clarity" is required. And that a journalist determines whether he or she has achieved such righteousness by measuring the volume of applause from likeminded followers on Twitter.
But what's absent from Smith's essay may be even more illuminating than what's in it. No one acknowledges the difficulty of achieving moral clarity. No one notes that there are precious few "clear moral calls" in life. No one demonstrates awareness that "the truth," like justice, is something our country is deeply divided about. No one expresses an understanding of how those divisions shape everyone's standpoint, very much including that of journalists themselves. Or concedes that understanding a country as complex and divided as the United States might require a little humility and willingness to suspend judgment for a time.
As Francis Bacon put it: "What is truth? said jesting Pilate; and would not stay for an answer."
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