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Dec 15, 2016
Straight, No Chaser
 Lots of journalists are ending the year in a mea culpa mood. In some ways, that’s OK; in others, maybe not.

We’ve branded the latest presidential contest a campaign like no other, a refrain we seem to voice every four years. Yet there is at least one truth this time around.
Oct 06, 2016
After Words
 The 2016 presidential campaign isn’t over, but the soul-searching already has begun. Will public service journalism be the same, worse or better after the votes are counted?
Aug 17, 2016
Semi-Annual Report to the Board
Pursuant to its charter, the Office of the Ombudsman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) fosters “public dialogue aimed at achieving high standards of excellence in public broadcasting.” It reports regularly on matters of “objectivity, balance, fairness, accuracy and transparency” in... Continue Reading
Jun 29, 2016
When Money Walks, Words Just Talk
 Well-financed legal proceedings designed to knock out detracting journalists and news organizations could be particularly damaging to public media, as well as to non-profits and investigative staffs whose pockets in many cases are not that deep.
May 03, 2016
Doin’ a Do
 If you’re running for office, you say things to get men and women to choose you. You pander for votes. It’s what you do. Journalists also pander—for answers, for facts and for more information. It’s what we do, and listeners expect it.
Apr 20, 2016
Trumped?
For decades, government-supported public media have championed journalistic news neutrality rooted in objectivity and balance. Nowadays, however—especially in the coverage of politics, elections and governance—much of the subjectivity once considered opinion is presented as news. Point of view can... Continue Reading
Mar 14, 2016
Lax on the Facts
The after action reports on the Republican presidential debate in Detroit lamented new lows in presidential political discourse and decorum. That was one storyline; there was another. The next morning, the PBS NewsHour website dutifully offered a fact-check.
Dec 22, 2015
Four Words
Accuracy is an essential component of news journalism. News journalists are expected to report the facts as best they can in the most neutral language.
Nov 24, 2015
Dis, Dys, and That
Disagreement is at once a gift and a challenge in a democracy. How does a free press balance the two in a manner that minimizes the dysfunction that can occur when those who disagree become disagreeable and dysfunction creeps in?