Bob Schwartz

It is the time before the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Newspapers report that one side says that slavery is endorsed by the Bible and that Africans are chattel, not people. Newspapers report that the other side says that Africans are people, deserving all the rights of human beings. The newspapers say to readers: you decide.

It is the 1930s, when Hitler is rising to power. Media report that Hitler says that some people, especially Jews, are not people and do not deserve German citizenship or rights as human beings. Media report that some others say that Jews and other disfavored people in Germany deserve to be treated with all the rights of human beings. The media say to readers and listeners: you decide.

Five years ago, during the Trump administration, I wrote a post Media Balance v. Truth: “A Balanced Treatment of an Unbalanced Phenomenon Distorts Reality”. The quote is from a piece by Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann, who wrote:

We understand the values of mainstream journalists, including the effort to report both sides of a story. But a balanced treatment of an unbalanced phenomenon distorts reality. If the political dynamics of Washington are unlikely to change anytime soon, at least we should change the way that reality is portrayed to the public.

Our advice to the press: Don’t seek professional safety through the even-handed, unfiltered presentation of opposing views.

The newspapers believed they weren’t defending slavery, just reporting on it. The media believed they weren’t defending Hitler, just reporting on him.

At the end of the day, when things went horribly wrong, were their hands really clean? At the end of this day, if things go horribly wrong, will theirs be?