At a time of conflict, stress and challenge, journalists must not change their mission and their standards, the chair of the Society of Professional Journalists' Ethics Committee told journalists at the University of Kentucky Wednesday evening.
Andrew Seaman, senior health-policy reporter for Reuters, noted that public trust in the news media is at an all-time low, but health-insurance companies have somehow improved their public regard in recent years, and "If they can gain trust, so can journalists."
Even though journalists have "the most powerful person in the world attacking us," they must not take the bait of an adviser to President Trump and become "the opposition party," Seaman said. They must continue to do the work that democracy and society demand, and "be careful of the friends you make while you are under attack.
He said journalists would do well to remember the maxim of Washington Post Editor Martin Baron: "We're not at war. We're at work."
Seaman made another point familiar to rural journalists: "Be part of the communities you serve," spending time that doesn't involve reporting.
At the same time, he said, journalists must be educators and advocates for their craft, explaining controversial decisions. And finally, he said, "Be human," empathizing and observing the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Seaman's appearance was the latest in a series of "Challenges to Journalism" programs sponsored by the UK School of Journalism and Media, its Scripps Howard First Amendment Center and Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, the UK Department of Communication and the campus and Bluegrass SPJ chapters. The next one will feature Rich Boehne, CEO of E.W. Scripps Co., March 30.
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| Andrew Seaman concludes his presentation at the University of Kentucky. |
Even though journalists have "the most powerful person in the world attacking us," they must not take the bait of an adviser to President Trump and become "the opposition party," Seaman said. They must continue to do the work that democracy and society demand, and "be careful of the friends you make while you are under attack.
He said journalists would do well to remember the maxim of Washington Post Editor Martin Baron: "We're not at war. We're at work."
Seaman made another point familiar to rural journalists: "Be part of the communities you serve," spending time that doesn't involve reporting.
At the same time, he said, journalists must be educators and advocates for their craft, explaining controversial decisions. And finally, he said, "Be human," empathizing and observing the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Seaman's appearance was the latest in a series of "Challenges to Journalism" programs sponsored by the UK School of Journalism and Media, its Scripps Howard First Amendment Center and Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, the UK Department of Communication and the campus and Bluegrass SPJ chapters. The next one will feature Rich Boehne, CEO of E.W. Scripps Co., March 30.
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