美国国家公共电台 NPR--'New York Times' publisher: journalism should be free of writers' personal beliefs

'New York Times' publisher: journalism¹ should be free of writers' personal beliefs

Transcript²

A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, has a new essay in The Columbia Journalism Review arguing that a journalist's views should not become part of the story. Others disagree.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Journalism - it should be free from government intimidation³, corporate⁴ influence and any partisan⁵ agenda. But should it also be free of journalists' personal beliefs? Yes, says A.G. Sulzberger, the chairman and publisher of The New York Times. His essay posted this morning in the Columbia Journalism Review. And in an interview with NPR's David Folkenflik, Sulzberger concedes his view puts him at odds⁶ with others in the profession and his own newsroom.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE⁷: A.G. Sulzberger was born in 1980, just a year before the first millennials. They came of age as cable news and online sites pulled journalism toward opinion and advocacy, and he says he finds the pull jarring.

A G SULZBERGER: This is something we hear often from inside our industry and outside it. You know, is it enough for journalists to describe the world as it is, or should they try to fix it?

FOLKENFLIK: The stories that journalists cover are relentless⁸, divisive and often feel existential.

(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: Personal and political polarization at a 20-year high.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: Right now, they're in a battle against something else - a changing climate.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #3: Misinformation and conspiracy⁹ theories about COVID-19.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #4: Mr. Trump's first lie was told just seconds into the night.

FOLKENFLIK: Sulzberger says The Times should no longer let lies go by unnoted.

SULZBERGER: When the facts are absolutely clear, they should be called out unequivocally and unapologetically.

FOLKENFLIK: Polls show trust in the media to be low. The press has been accused of bias¹⁰ from the right for decades. Journalists of the past, as a result, bent¹¹ over backwards¹² to be perceived as fair. Over the past six years, the #MeToo and social justice movements have sparked greater activist¹³ sentiment inside American newsrooms. Sulzberger says the risk today is that journalists are embracing what he calls one-side-ism.

SULZBERGER: Where journalists are demonstrating that they're on the side of the righteous. And I really think that that can create blind spots and echo chambers¹⁴.

FOLKENFLIK: Many journalists question whether more traditional approaches, like Sulzberger's, can meet the moment - Wesley Lowery among them.

WESLEY LOWERY: Journalists are humans. We have biases¹⁵. We have preferences. We have blind spots. We have experiences. And we have deficit¹⁶ of experiences in some cases.

FOLKENFLIK: Lowery is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who reports on issues of race and justice.

LOWERY: Very often, it's in that line of coverage¹⁷ that our news organizations send messages about what they think is important, what they think is urgent, what they think is controversial. It's how we show our biases and our values - what story we put on the front page, what story we order up a series on, what story we don't cover at all.

FOLKENFLIK: Lowery praises Sulzberger's efforts to diversify¹⁸ The Times' journalistic ranks and to think more deeply about its coverage. Yet, he says The Times' interest in sidestepping bias ends up crafting an identity and image to market it to deep-pocketed subscribers.

LOWERY: The coverage of any issue has to be considered not just within the context of that piece itself, but how does that piece fit into a larger line of coverage and the message that is being sent by a news organization?

FOLKENFLIK: As one example, Lowery points to articles questioning medical care given to teens who want to transition. A sizable group of journalists protested the stories, including some with past ties to The Times. The Times has defended those stories as rigorously reported efforts to explore vital and uncomfortable questions.

SULZBERGER: Journalists also need to have humility¹⁹ that if you're following the facts wherever they lead, they often lead to a question. They often lead to uncertainty²⁰. They often lead to a debate.

FOLKENFLIK: The Times got big stories wrong, Sulzberger notes, when it presented matters as certain that weren't, like wrong reports that Iraq possessed²¹ weapons of mass destruction before the U.S.-led invasion or the dismissal of the suggestion that COVID-19 leaked from a lab - unlikely but possible. Sulzberger says he wants people to bring their lived experiences to the newsroom to inform their coverage. He just doesn't want those experiences to dictate²² how the news is defined.

David Folkenflik, NPR News.

1 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

6 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

9 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

10 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

11 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

12 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

13 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

14 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

15 biases   

偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹

参考例句：

• Stereotypes represent designer or researcher biases and assumptions, rather than factual data. 它代表设计师或者研究者的偏见和假设，而不是实际的数据。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The net effect of biases on international comparisons is easily summarized. 偏差对国际比较的基本影响容易概括。

16 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

17 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

18 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

19 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

20 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

21 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

22 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？