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I’ve been following from afar, and I remain pissed that my former colleagues at @SpokesmanReview (a damn fine local paper) are getting slammed because the publisher made an illogical endorsement out of line with the community it serves.
I’ve seen a ton of local papers (including our @MiamiHerald) suffer lately because of poor opinion content. Nationals have eaten crow too. I think it’s a huge signal from users that we have to change the product strategy.
Let opinion go its own way. Rebrand it and make it a differentiated product. Sell it as an add-on bundle to a news subscription. Sell columnists individually — it’s working for Substack and The Athletic, etc.
Would people pay for opinion as a standalone product? Idk, but they’ll definitely STOP paying for journalism when opinion sucks. It’s increasingly a liability for an already struggling business. News needs all the help it can get, and opinion ain’t helping.
I have also always thought it better that journalists be FAR MORE forthright about their biases than hiding behind a false shield of objectivity. Better to let folks know where you stand that to pretend you have no stance.
Maybe this is because I am queer and genderqueer, and no matter how objective I attempt to be, I believe I deserve freedom, rights and dignity. I believe humanity simply does supercede profession.
These things aren’t mutually exclusive, imo. Reporters and editors can work harder to be transparent about who we are and how we do our work as a way to build trust WHILE doing our best to report facts fairly. We can stop lying to the people we serve.
User behavior shows that people already believe objectivity is a farce. And that people tend choose news that reflects themselves. Maybe more honesty, more clarity about methods, more responsiveness can help people make better choices for themselves.
And I really think seriously differentiating opinion from news can strengthen a more honest kind of news reporting. It clears up standards and forces more specific critique of reporting rather than lumping in a controversial news piece with columnists’ intentional provocations.
News reporters are human beings with lived experiences. We are fallible creatures. That is a fact. That can Also be an advantage, if we stay honest about who we are, clear in our intent and transparent in our methods.
This continual game of objectivity pretend isn’t fooling anyone and it is hurting our case at trustworthiness regarding facts. Blending news that aims to inform with opinion designed to state a case and spark debate is making it all worse. Let’s fix it.
