Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
A chill swept through the packed ballroom. Marty Baron, the distinguished retired editor of The Washington Post, stood before more than 100 friends of the free press in St. Louis.
Baron was there as keynote speaker for the 14th Annual First Amendment celebration lunch of the Gateway Journalism Review. It was early November, but the chill didn’t come from the weather outside.
Rather, a raw, bleak feel rose inside from the words of an editor who has spent nearly 50 years winning Pulitzer Prizes and overseeing powerful examples of newsrooms doing purposeful work on behalf of the public.
That purpose, as the First Amendment’s author James Madison explained, is “freely examining public characters and measures.’’ As an editor, Marty Baron took that purpose to work with him every day.
Newspapers he guided over the years in Miami, Boston and Washington, D.C. examined major scandals and revelations: secret government surveillance of American citizens; troubling patterns of police killings across the country; a worldwide coverup by the Catholic Church of priests sexually abusing children.
All these stories were carefully reported by journalists who looked for hard evidence and relied on the umbrella protection of a free press to follow the facts wherever they led.
But this service to the public and to democracy is no longer guaranteed, Baron explained to the hushed crowd in Missouri. The right to investigate and question the actions of government and politicians is now clearly threatened.
“Over the decades I took it for granted that we would always have a free press in this country,’ Baron said. “That the First Amendment would guarantee it. And that the media could — and would — fulfill its mission of holding our government to account.’’
“I no longer take any of that for granted. I can’t be certain the rule of law will prevail. Can’t be confident that a free press will endure – or that free expression for all American will either.”
Marty Baron isn’t a partisan politician. He didn’t make a name for himself as a social media influencer. Rather, he is a fearless editor and life-long journalist who didn’t have time for fabricated images and falsehoods.
And that’s what made his words so powerful. “We now live in a time when people are unable – or unwilling – to distinguish between what is true and what is false,’’ he said. “Today, we cannot even agree on how to determine a fact.”
Baron recalled an earlier time in this country. A time when Americans of all political and social backgrounds generally relied on expertise, education, experience and — most importantly — evidence — to get to the facts. We the People recognized that fact-based journalism was essential to our democracy — a shared process, valued and largely embraced by the public.
Today, Baron frets that every one of these once common elements of fact-finding are being devalued — if not outright denied. The hammering away at such institutional pillars as vetted, fact-based journalism puts the rights of all Americans at risk, Baron believes.
He makes the case that a nation that loses its grip on facts will have a difficult time figuring out how to govern itself. People will be confused, afraid, subject to the whims of those who would like to control and manipulate.
Still, Marty Baron describes himself as a worried optimist. He pleads the case for a renewed public appreciation of honest, honorable journalism.
To journalists, Baron’s advice is: “Listen generously — with empathy and respect to those we cover. There is no place for condescension, contempt or incivility.”
The words of this distinguished editor came down to a simple duty for every journalist: be fair to the public. “That means being straight with them. We have a duty to tell readers, viewers and listeners directly, fearlessly, and often courageously what we – through honerst and conscientious reporting — find to be fact.’’
Inspired words for challenging times.
