Freedom of the Press

Sorry for the absence, but life is busy. Nonetheless, today I heard a news program on NPR that got me to thinking.

The program was on the Diane Rehm show and was about "Not for Profit Journalism" and featured such guests as representatives from The Center for Public Integrity, ProPublica, and the Texas Tribune. One caller was upset with the slanted version of the news that we get everywhere and also intimated that the groups on the show were just as guilty of one-sidedness (including NPR) as radio shows like Limbaugh's and Hannity's or the New York Times. He wanted news to stick to the 4 w's and an h (where, when, why, what, how).

All of this made me remember learning about news reporting in school. I was taught that reporters were supposed to be non-biased and report the facts (see the w's above). I took that at face value and it stayed with me for years. Upon listening to this report, though, I began to question this. When did this really happen? Why was I taught this? At what point did it get introduced into journalism classes and schools? The reason for this question is that newspapers have always been biased. Perhaps more so in the past than now. In reading the books about John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other early colonial politicians, the newspapers were clear propagandist arms of the prevailing political schools of thought of the time. I doubt seriously that it was any different going back to the time of Gutenberg.

So I ask again, where did this idea come from that journalism should be unbiased?

By the way, check out ProPublica; it is a neat non-profit news outlet.