There was lots of speak in journalism circles the previous few days about political reporting and a battle of curiosity amongst reporters. Most of that speak has surrounded New York journal putting high-profile Washington reporter Oliva Nuzzi on depart whereas it seems into the reporter’s admitted private relationship with a topic she has coated: Robert Kennedy Jr. (In case you’re not caught up on the small print of that, take a look at my Monday newsletter.)
Effectively, right here’s one other story involving a battle of curiosity and political reporting. It won’t be as gossipy and scandalous because the Nuzzi-Kennedy story, however it’s each bit as troubling relating to doable biased reporting. Perhaps much more so.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Daniel Bice reported how earlier this yr, the New York Submit started publishing a lot of tales in regards to the presidential, Senate and congressional races in Wisconsin. It was all part of the paper’s look into politics within the swing states.
However Bice stories that the Submit reporter who wrote these tales has “sturdy ties to Republicans and conservatives in Wisconsin.” In reality, Bice wrote, the reporter in query, Amy Sikma, was twice paid by the state Republican Celebration for consulting work. As well as, Bice wrote, “She was additionally a marketing campaign marketing consultant for former Supreme Courtroom Justice Dan Kelly’s 2023 marketing campaign, beforehand ran a main contest for a GOP candidate and labored for a corporation that opposes same-sex marriage.”
None of these issues have been disclosed in both the tales Sikma wrote or in her bio on the Submit web site. Her bio says she is a “political and public-policy-research author with greater than 15 years of expertise in Wisconsin politics, from the State Capitol to political campaigns to analysis and communications.”
That merely isn’t clear sufficient.
Bice goes on to jot down that Sikma wrote tales that have been crucial of Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, former U.S. Rep. Peter Barca and congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke. And what do all these politicians have in frequent? They’re all Democrats.
This isn’t even a troublesome name. Given her historical past, Sikma shouldn’t be writing information tales about Wisconsin politics. And if she does, she and the Submit completely need to be clear and disclose that data to the readers.
When requested by Bice, Sikma mentioned, “Effectively, I’m writing tales for the good thing about the readers.” She then referred inquiries to her editor, Kelly Jane Torrnence, who had not responded to Bice when Bice revealed his story.
The media — and, on this case, I’m speaking in regards to the main TV networks, the cable information stations and the massive retailers that cowl nationwide politics, resembling The New York Instances, Washington Submit and so forth — usually get criticized for his or her protection of Donald Trump.
On one hand, should you print or air every thing Trump says — irrespective of how false or ridiculous it may be — then information retailers may be criticized for being reckless, and letting Trump say no matter he desires. However, should you edit out all of the wild, unfaithful issues Trump says, you then run the chance of constructing Trump sound extra coherent. To do this, as my colleague Kelly McBride recently wrote, is to “sanewash” him.
McBride wrote, “Like greenwashing (taking superficial actions within the identify of serving to the setting), or sportswashing (utilizing sporting occasions to burnish one’s status and gloss over corruption or human rights abuses), sanewashing is the act of packaging radical and outrageous statements in a approach that makes them appear regular.”
So, in the long run, journalists may be caught between a Trump and a tough place.
In a recent episode of NPR’s “Fresh Air,” famous New York Instances political author Maggie Haberman, who has an extended historical past masking Trump, defended the media’s protection of Trump.
Haberman mentioned, “I believe that the media does an excellent job masking Trump.”
Haberman mentioned there are all the time going to be particular tales, a lot of that are written on tight deadlines, that could possibly be a little bit higher or extra exact.
Nevertheless, Haberman added, “I believe there may be an business, bluntly … that’s devoted towards attacking the media, particularly because it pertains to masking Donald Trump and all protection of Trump. And I believe that Trump is a very troublesome determine to cowl as a result of he challenges information media course of daily – has for years. The programs are simply basically — they weren’t constructed to cope with anyone who says issues that aren’t true as usually as he does or speaks as incoherently as he usually does.”
Haberman continued by saying, “I believe the media has truly performed an excellent job exhibiting individuals who he’s, what he says, what he does. I believe a lot of the data that the general public has about Trump is due to reporting by the media. And I suppose I don’t actually perceive how this business that actually exists to assault the press broadly – and the media isn’t a monolith. It’s not a league. However this business that exists to do this — I don’t see how they assume they’re an answer by undermining religion in what we do. That’s been very complicated to me.”
I’m with Haberman on this. There are those that criticize political protection, actually because these doing the criticizing let their private politics closely affect their reactions.
Haberman continued by saying, “I’m speaking about criticism on the left. I’m speaking about … Trump has used the language of despots to undermine the press. It is vitally properly established, and it’s very harmful. And I’ve talked about that. The writer of The New York Instances has been extremely clear about that. He revealed an op-ed not too long ago in The Washington Submit truly speaking about that. So I don’t assume that anyone at The New York Instances is making an attempt to sanitize Trump’s language. Do I believe that there are occasional items at my paper, at different papers that in all probability ought to have been performed in another way? That’s completely true. However what occurs with this business on the left that assaults the press is that it will get described as a grand conspiracy to attempt to assist Trump by some means, versus folks doing their job on each day deadlines and never all the time hitting the mark as a result of we’re people. And we’re doing our greatest below a really difficult set of circumstances. However I truly assume the media has performed an excellent job of masking Trump.”
(Hat tip to Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher for this merchandise.)
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, talking at a marketing campaign occasion on Monday in Smithton, Pa. (AP Picture/Alex Brandon)
Mark Jacob, a former editor on the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Solar-Instances, now writes a media e-newsletter and disagreed with Haberman’s take that Trump is roofed properly.
Jacob wrote in this newsletter, “Please. The media does not do a very good job masking Trump. If it did, Trump’s lies in regards to the financial system, crime, immigration, vitality, and numerous different points wouldn’t have gained such buy among the many public. Trump lies efficiently as a result of the folks within the reality enterprise are doing a awful job.”
I’m not endorsing what Jacob wrote, however thought I might share it. He has a lot extra to say on the subject, should you’re . I’ll add a reporter pal of mine — Les Bowen, previously of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Each day Information — posted on X, “… the media aren’t totally in charge. The opposite half is that many hundreds of thousands of individuals badly WANT to imagine his lies, and received’t hearken to anybody who says they aren’t true.”
That’s spot on.
Additionally in his e-newsletter, Jacob solidly captured the entire mess involving Olivia Nuzzi and Robert Kennedy, Jr. He wrote, “This isn’t a grey space in journalism. Reporters are imagined to keep away from and disclose conflicts of curiosity. If Kennedy made inappropriate advances, Nuzzi ought to have written about it. If she was the one who overstepped, she ought to have resigned. If the private relationship was welcomed by each of them, she ought to have gone to her editor and requested to be taken off the story.”
Jacob added, “Whereas journalist misbehavior is nothing new, the Nuzzi scandal is especially unwelcome as a result of it comes a month and a half earlier than a vital election. Credible reporting is desperately wanted because the information business takes fireplace from each cynical propagandists and trustworthy journalism watchdogs.”
The New York Instances’ Matt Flegenheimer with “The Long, Strange Saga of Kamala Harris and Kimberly Guilfoyle.”
With a hurricane about to kind within the Gulf of Mexico, this story from The Washington Submit’s “The Drowning South” sequence is particularly well timed. It’s Chris Mooney, John Muyskens and Brady Dennis (with pictures and movies by Ricky Carioti) with “Where the sea wall ends.”
Right here’s an entertaining sports activities story: The Athletic’s Pete Sampson with “Inside Miami (OH)’s Notre Dame experience: An all-access pass to denied upset dreams.”
Have suggestions or a tip? E-mail Poynter senior media author Tom Jones at [email protected].
The Poynter Report is our each day media e-newsletter. To have it delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday, enroll here.
