What is expected of journalists is very much like what we ask of jurors.
When the members of a jury are selected, they are asked whether they can be fair in coming to a judgement — whether they can put aside any biases or pre-existing opinions about the people and issues involved in that trial in order to come to a dispassionate, balanced decision based not on beliefs or prejudices but on the facts as established in sworn testimony.
They are also reminded of this pledge by the judge when they receive instructions just before they begin their deliberations.
The analogy is not perfect but what we demand of jurors is similar to what we insist of journalists when we send them out to gather the facts for stories.
Editors and news directors recognize that reporters are just like anyone else in that they have their own beliefs, opinions, biases, blind spots and flaws. That’s only human.
But what a good journalist, like a good juror, has to set that all aside in favor of an all-consuming commitment to get it right.
That this is hard to do is obvious, especially when the truths we discover contradict our core beliefs, prejudices or assumptions. But, as I’ve said many times to student journalists, you can’t discover the truth as you wish it to be, you have to report the truth as you discover it to be.
The integrity of our legal system depends on jurors who can follow strict jury instructions in a search for the truth. The integrity of our press depends on journalists who can maintain a similar discipline in their search for truth.
And our democracy depends on both.
HEADLINES:
What’s in the Iran deal Trump says he’s ready to sign (Axios)
Qatar pursued secret talks with Iran to shield gas complex from strikes, security officials say (WP)
Whipsawed Between Fear and Relief, Iranians Hope for War’s End (NYT)
Judge blocks DOJ ‘anti-weaponization’ fund for longer, wants guarantee it’s dead (CNBC)
Trump’s allies have another way to pay ‘weaponization’ victims (Reuters)
US to cut air and naval assets deployed for NATO operations in Europe (Al Jazeera)
SpaceX stock pops 20% in first trades after record-breaking IPO (BI)
Elon Musk becomes the first trillionaire after SpaceX surges out of the gate (WP)
Americans Are Already Paying Dearly for the National Debt (Atlantic)
Steve Hilton’s Chances of Beating Becerra to Flip California: New Poll (Newsweek)
California’s schools are emptying out. Experts say it’s only going to get worse. (SFGate)
In Cesar Chavez’s Labor Union, Women Often Worked in Fear (NYT)
Silicon Valley needs to get God (Economist)
Alarm as Ebola spreads into new areas of DR Congo (Al Jazeera)
El Niño and the Iran war may spark hunger crisis for more than 100 million (WP)
Suspect in Fatal Shooting Is Dead After a Standoff in Texas, Officials Say (NYT)
Scientists gave an octopus a mirror. Here’s what happened next (BBC)
Justice Dept. Clears Way for Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger (NYT)
Live market odds: Are we heading for the hottest year on record? (Weather Channel)
As World Cup Begins, Mexico City Becomes a Global Stage (NYT)
Tom Hanks bought a 1930s Royal standard typewriter at Berkeley Typewriter last week (Berkeleyside)
What 370,000 College Essays Tell Us About A.I.’s Effects on Creativity (NYT)
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