ABC's Jake Tapper is one of those rare reporters whose political leanings are a mystery to even long-time viewers. In today's
This Week he reveals how he removes the temptation to take positions, much less promulgate them.
Question: Who are you going to vote for?
Jake Tapper: The truth is, I don't vote in races I cover. After I became a reporter, I found that, after I voted absentee ballot on a race I covered, it felt like I made an investment, and it was an uncomfortable feeling. So while I believe an active voting public to be vital to our Republic and I revere voting, I don't feel as though I can do the best job I can bringing you fair and impartial coverage of politicians if I feel in any way invested in those politicians.
Now, other reporters feel differently, and I in no way judge that. I'm not trying to be holier-than-thou. This is just my personal view.
Flashback to
a post from four years ago, comparing the professions of accountancy and journalism:
Keeping their distance and independence is a must for CPA’s if they are to maintain trust and a reputation for integrity. Some accountants violated that trust during the go-go tech boom and Enron / Worldcom scandals. In order to save the profession, accountants had to reassert the guiding principles of independence and integrity. You don’t see auditors standing up and cheering at shareholders meetings.
In my idealistic youth I thought about a career in journalism. Woodward and Bernstein (of Watergate fame) were my heroes. They pursued a story that brought down an administration. Yet they didn’t make up facts; if information could not be verified, they left it out.
Today the profession of news journalism has lost its way. Opinion has leaked beyond the editorial pages to the rest of the newspaper. “Newsmen” publish unconfirmed rumors that support their stances and ignore inconvenient facts that don’t. Outside the office, they openly display their political preferences; there’s no attempt to maintain even the appearance of objectivity.
We may or may not be better off than we were four years ago. There's no question that the state of journalism, however one measures it, is worse.
© 2012 Stephen Yuen
No comments:
Post a Comment