Journalism and Truth

Great speech by John Walcott, DC bureau chief for McClatchy, upon his acceptance of the I.F. Stone award for journalistic independence. There's a lot there, including typical award-acceptance blather, but his critique of modern journalists is penetrating. Some key takeaways:

Some of my colleagues have cited the fact that the Democrats in Congress failed to challenge the administration on Iraq as a reason for their lapses, but the Democrats' dereliction of duty doesn't explain our own, much less excuse it.

And:

The idea that truth is merely a social construct, that it's subjective, in other words, first appeared in academia as a corruption of post-modernism, but it's taken root in our culture without our really realizing it or understanding its implications.

Although this kind of thinking, relativism and constructivism, started on the left, many conservatives now feel empowered by it, too, and some of them have embraced it with a vengeance on issues ranging from global warming and evolution to the war in Iraq.

And:

Fair is not always balanced, and balanced is not always fair.

I wrote a column with a similar take in my campus alternative newspaper about five or six years ago, when I was an undergrad, though my take was not half as insightful, penetrating or eloquent, and, as a fortunate result, will never again see the light of day.