By Dan Hazen / Herald Forum
I’m reminded of the adage, “Don’t cut off the branch you’re sitting on,” as I sit down to criticize the publication I’m writing for. But I trust the folks at The Herald, and frankly, there is little at stake for anyone (writer, publisher or reader) if I never write again. So, I’ll cut away!
Herald, your opinion is showing. (See the unpublished work: “Opinions are Butt Cracks” Subtitle: “We all know you have one, but please conceal it.”)
For years, the Daily Heald has endured accusations of being “left leaning” (many of them un-warranted, harsh and rooted in the critic’s own “leanings”). But bias on the critic’s part does not necessarily mean the criticism is unmerited.
The most recent example (which prompted this column) appeared recently: (“Police chase ends with crash, closes U.S. 2 for hours,” The Herald, Oct. 1).
The article details the apprehension of a Seattle car thief after a successful vehicle pursuit in Monroe, the removal from the streets of an illegally possessed gun and the line-of-duty injuries of three Snohomish County deputies. Now, compare the facts as I just articulated with the original piece. I don’t tell it “better” or more “objectively.” Quite the contrary: I intentionally displayed opinions on criminal justice, guns and local politics without being un-factual. As a police and fire chaplain, I’m particularly aware of how first responders are represented in media.
One could say I have a bias.
Moreover, the topic of The Herald piece changed about halfway through when it read: “Three police pursuits last month ended with the suspect dead.” Factual. Important. But a different story. The reader is prompted to contemplate a subjective, policy topic in the context of “dead suspects.” Because the topic swung from “Crime incident in Monroe” to “Police pursuit policy in Washington state” on the narrow hinge of “dead suspects,” the reader must wonder how the reporter connects these stories.
Why not swing to the topic of gun violence, mental health, violence amongst young men, against women, or domestic violence? Why not swing to the fact that out of four pursuits, four concluded with no serious injuries to others? That all three fatalities resulted from the direct action of the suspects? That no shots were fired by cops or that two innocent women had been brutally murdered?
And let’s be precise about language: the pursuits “ended with,” the death of the subjects is a clause creating the powerful implication that the pursuit itself was the cause of death even though one suspect committed suicide, another was ejected from his car because he failed to wear a seatbelt and the third died in a collision of his own causing.
I’m left to wonder if the reporter comes to this story with some opinions about police pursuits. Even if he doesn’t; I’m still left to wonder, and the wondering is the problem.
We need to trust our journalists. It’s the most fundamental component of the relationship. As The Herald asks tough questions about readership, the future of journalism and other existential questions, why readers have historically seen bias in these pages should be asked as well.
I know local journalists have opinions. Of course they do. But I need to trust that they know they do too and can adjust appropriately. Being objective is hard work; an ideal that is ultimately impossible, but like courage and compassion it’s important to try, because: trust.
There will always be readers who throw tantrums because their biases go under-reported. But many of us will continue to struggle along with our beloved local journalists if we can trust each other.
Maybe it’s as simple as hitting the “save” button on one story and opening a fresh page to start another. Maybe it’s as simple (but monumental) as writing about struggling with objectivity. It must be tough. Tell us about it. We’re with you.
In this new era, local journalism will survive, maybe even thrive, only where it’s transparent and collaborative.
Dan Hazen lives in Marysville and works in Everett.
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