I’ve been amazed over the past 20 years to see journalistic standards go into the dumper. The amazing thing is that this has happened with the enthusiastic support of the journalism academy, editors and reporters. Take this sentence, for example, a Herald-Sun story this morning. It references Bill Kalkhof, longtime Durham Downtown Durham Inc. president and an indefatigable promoter of downtown revitalization, and his position on moving the county’s main library:
Kalkhof, his perspective admittedly clouded by a downtown-promoting agenda and clearly keen to snare the main library’s 490,000 or so annual visitors, said he’d like to see the facility move to the city-owned site of the former Woolworth’s building near the corner of Parrish and Corcoran Streets.
Also mentioned in the story is Ken Berger, the library’s trustees chairman and a well-known professionial at Duke’s Perkins Library. Here’s how The Herald-Sun referred to Berger:
“I can’t predict at this point how long the process will take,” Trustees Chairman Ken Berger said, although conceding that “the sooner we can get moving on this the better. We don’t want to lose any opportunities.”
It did not say, “Trustees Chairman Ken Berger, his perspective clouded by a long association with libraries and librarians…” Nor, in another story today, did it refer to Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong as having “his perspective clouded by an upcoming election campaign,” nor in another story did it characterize Mayor Bill Bell’s perspective as being “clouded by his admitted desire to see a performing arts center in downtown Durham.”
If a newspaper is going to point out things that cloud people’s perspectives then they should do it to everyone they quote. After all, everyone has a perspective and a point of view. When a newspaper characterizes on person’s perspective as “clouded” it implies that those who disagree with that view have a “clear” perspective. That’s not a newspaper’s call.
