Getting Trump Was More Important to Some Journalists Than Getting the Story Right

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2023

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To retain journalistic credibility, getting a story right is more important than pursuing a crusade.

That’s a fair takeaway from a report published this week by the Columbia Journalism Review dissecting the so-called Russiagate saga, during which former President Donald Trump was accused of colluding with Russian officials to win the 2016 election. While pursuing the story, many journalists went well beyond their traditional role of scrutinizing powerful officials and not only openly picked a side in America’s escalating political warfare but committed to proving a literal conspiracy theory true, no matter the evidence. It didn’t go well.

“The end of the long inquiry into whether Donald Trump was colluding with Russia came in July 2019, when Robert Mueller III, the special counsel, took seven, sometimes painful, hours to essentially say no,” former New York Times reporter Jeff Gerth writes at the beginning of his detailed analysis. His old employer was at the center of the frenzy and its editors still defend their efforts, he adds. “But outside of the Times’ own bubble, the damage to the credibility of the Times and its peers persists, three years on, and is likely to take on new energy as the nation faces yet another election season animated by antagonism toward the press. At its root was an undeclared war between an entrenched media, and a new kind of disruptive presidency, with its own hyperbolic version of the truth.”

The whole piece is worth reading, but make yourself a pot of coffee or crack open a bottle of wineit’s long. Nobody comes off looking especially good. That’s true of the former president, though the flaws it reveals in Trump are nothing new to anybody who has watched him and his ego on the national stage. It’s true of the FBI agents who joined with too many journalists to fan each other into a hopeful frenzy over the Steele dossier and its assertions that Trump was Putin’s puppet. And it’s especially true of those members of the press who shed credibility by committing to a narrative that didn’t pan out.

“Before the 2016 election, most Americans trusted the traditional media and the trend was positive, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer,” Gerth notes. “Today, the U.S. media has the lowest credibility26 percentamong forty-six nations, according to a 2022 study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.”

That Reuters study is echoed by other studies finding minimal trust in the media. But distrust is unevenly spread.

“Americans’ trust in the media remains sharply polarized along partisan lines, with 70 percent of Democrats, 14 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of independents saying they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence,” according to Gallup polling in October 2022.

That divide is explained by the public perception that the media is not only biased, but out to push an agenda without regard for honesty. Americans “suspect that inaccuracies in reporting are purposeful, with 52 percent believing that reporters misrepresent the facts, and 28 percent believing reporters make them up entirely,” a Gallup/Knight poll found in 2020.

Journalistic shenanigans like the Russiagate debacle can only feed such concerns.

Strictly speaking, there’s nothing wrong with journalists having a point of view, so long as they’re open about it and emphasize getting the story right. You’re reading a libertarian publication right now; we do our best to confine our beliefs to interpreting facts that exist independent of our preferences. A partisan press is well-rooted in American history, from the newspapers that gleefully tormented the early presidents to the Republican and Socialist newspapers over which my grandparents screamed at each other. Efforts at “objectivity” in news coveragehowever successfuldidn’t really become the norm until after World War II. And it’s likely a passing norm as journalists re-embrace partisanship and find (or don’t) supportive audiences.

“A little more than half of the journalists surveyed (55 percent) say that every side does not always deserve equal coverage in the news,” Pew Research reported last summer. “By contrast, 22 percent of Americans overall say the same, whereas about three-quarters (76 percent) say journalists should always strive to give all sides equal coverage.”

“Beyond Objectivity: Producing Trustworthy News in Today’s Newsrooms,” published last week by the Knight-Cronkite News Lab, found that “a growing number of journalists of color and younger white reporters, including LGBTQ+ people, believe that objectivity has become an increasingly outdated and divisive concept that prevents truly accurate reporting informed by their own backgrounds, experiences and points of view.” Authors Leonard Downie Jr., formerly of the Washington Post, and Arizona State University journalism professor Andrew Heyward wisely recommend that post-objectivity newsrooms should be open with their staff and the public about their core beliefs. But, troublingly, they also suggest that newsroom leaders should “move beyond accuracy to truth.”

It’s really hard to get to any sort of truth if you bypass accuracy.

“My main conclusion is that journalism’s primary missions, informing the public and holding powerful interests accountable, have been undermined by the erosion of journalistic norms and the media’s own lack of transparency about its work,” Gerth writes in the afterword to his Russiagate post mortem. “One traditional journalistic standard that wasn’t always followed in the Trump-Russia coverage is the need to report facts that run counter to the prevailing narrative.”

If more of the journalists pursuing the Russiagate story had been scrupulous about getting the facts right, they might have noticed that a story that many wanted to be true was remarkably thin and, ultimately, inaccurate. Failing to perform due diligence did the media no favors when the facts finally emerged and further eroded public trust.

Gerth calls for his colleagues to recommit themselves to “a transparent, unbiased, and accountable media” in order to win back trust and audiences that are increasingly siloed along partisan lines. “Unbiased” is probably a big ask given the inclinations of journalists themselves. It’s not even obvious that it ever existed; the media giants that dominated for a few decades were likely more monolithic in their newsroom ideologies than they were truly neutral. But transparency and accountability should be expected of journalists who should be open about their methods and pursue stories, not results.

In the end, no matter what ideologies or causes motivate journalists, nobody will put faith in us if we fail to get the story right.

Sports

Marchand’s OT score cuts Panthers’ deficit to 2-1

Published

2 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Marchand's OT score cuts Panthers' deficit to 2-1

Associated Press

May 9, 2025, 10:56 PM ET

SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand scored on a deflected shot at 15:27 of overtime and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Friday night to cut their deficit in the Eastern Conference semifinal series to 2-1.

Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Jonah Gadjovich scored for Florida, which got 27 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. Evan Rodrigues had two assists for the Panthers. They 13-2 in their last 15 playoff overtime games.

John Tavares scored twice, and Matthew Knies and Morgan Rielly also scored for the Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll stopped 32 shots.

Game 4 will be in Sunrise on Sunday night.

Florida erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-1, and that’s been almost impossible to do against Toronto this season.

By the numbers, it was all looking good for the Maple Leafs.

They were 30-3-0 when leading after the first period, including playoffs, the second-best record in the league.
They were 38-8-2, the league’s third-best record when scoring first.
They had blown only 11 leads all season, none in the playoffs.
They were 44-3-1 in games where they led by two goals or more.

Combine all that with Toronto having won all 11 of its previous best-of-seven series when taking a 2-0 lead at home, Florida being 0-5 in series where it dropped both Games 1 and 2, and leaguewide, teams facing 0-2 deficits come back to win those series only about 14% of the time.

But Marchand — a longtime Toronto playoff nemesis from his days in Boston — got the biggest goal of Florida’s season, rendering all those numbers moot for now.

The Leafs got two goals that deflected in off of Panthers defensemen: Tavares’ second goal nicked the glove of Gustav Forsling on its way past Bobrovsky for a 3-1 lead, and Rielly’s goal redirected off Seth Jones’ leg to tie it with 9:04 left in the third.

Knies scored 23 seconds into the game, the second time Toronto had a 1-0 lead in the first minute of this series. Tavares made it 2-0 at 5:57 and just like that, the Panthers were in trouble.

A diving Barkov threw the puck at the night and saw it carom in off a Toronto stick to get Florida on the board — only for Tavares to score again early in the second for a 3-1 Leafs lead.

Florida needed a break. It came.

Reinhart was credited with a goal after Woll thought he covered up the puck following a scrum in front of the net. But after review, it was determined the puck had crossed the line. Florida had life, the building was loud again and about a minute later, Verhaeghe tied it at 3-3.

Gadjovich made it 4-3 late in the second, before Rielly tied it midway through the third.

Sports

Vegas’ Roy dodges suspension for G2 cross-check

Published

2 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Vegas' Roy dodges suspension for G2 cross-check

ESPN News Services

May 9, 2025, 09:19 PM ET

NEW YORK — Vegas Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy was fined but not suspended Friday for cross-checking the Edmonton Oilers‘ Trent Frederic in the face in overtime of Game 2 of the teams’ second-round playoff series.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced the fine of $7,813, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, after a disciplinary hearing with him.

Roy attempted to play the puck while it was airborne but made contact with Frederic’s head instead, resulting in a laceration for the Oilers forward.

Frederic briefly exited the game before making a quick return to the ice. Edmonton, however, failed to capitalize on the ensuing five-minute power play but won not long after on a goal by Leon Draisaitl from Connor McDavid.

Vegas trails the best-of-seven series 2-0 with Game 3 on Saturday night at Edmonton.

Information from The Associated Press and Field Level Media was used in this report.

Sports

Red Sox’s Henry, disgruntled Devers have sit-down

Published

2 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Red Sox's Henry, disgruntled Devers have sit-down

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Boston Red Sox owner John Henry met with disgruntled star Rafael Devers on Friday afternoon, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road after Devers expressed disillusionment with the organization’s suggestion he switch positions for the second time in two months.

Joined by Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and president Sam Kennedy, Henry flew to Kansas City on Friday to address the firestorm after Devers objected to moving from designated hitter to first base after Triston Casas‘ season-ending knee injury.

Devers, who signed a 10-year, $313.5 million contract with Boston in January 2023, told reporters Thursday that he would not move to first base and criticized Breslow, saying: “I don’t understand some of the decisions that the GM makes.” During spring training, Devers said he did not want to move off third base — the position he had played in his first eight major league seasons — after the free agent signing of reigning American League Gold Glove winner Alex Bregman. Eventually, Devers agreed to become Boston’s DH, where he has played in each of the team’s 40 games this season.

Devers met with Henry and manager Alex Cora before Friday’s game and had what Breslow deemed “an honest conversation about what we value as an organization and what we believe is important to the Boston Red Sox.” The Red Sox have been using Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro — both utility men — to plug the hole at first base amid a 20-19 start.

“He expressed his feelings. John did the same thing,” Cora said. “I think the most important thing here is we’re trying to accomplish something big here. And obviously there’s changes on the roster, situations that happened, and you have to adjust.”

Breslow had introduced the possibility of moving to first base to the 28-year-old Devers, a three-time All-Star who, after a poor start, entered Friday’s game against the Kansas City Royals hitting .255/.379/.455 with 6 home runs, 25 RBIs and an AL-leading 29 walks.

Devers did not take kindly to the idea, saying Thursday: “They told me that I was going to be playing this position, DH, and now they’re going back on that. So, I just don’t think they stayed true to their word.”

The pointedness of Devers’ comments prompted Henry, who declined to comment, to fly halfway across the country and attempt to put to bed issues that have festered since spring training.

The signing of Bregman, who has been the Red Sox’s best player, accelerated moving Devers off third base, which evaluators long thought was an inevitability, even with his improvements at the position. First base had been viewed as his likeliest landing spot, but the presence of Casas pushed Devers to DH, a move he rebuffed at first before eventually complying.

Devers’ disappointment during the spring, sources said, stemmed from feeling blindsided by the lack of communication regarding the initial position switch.

“It’s my job to always put the priorities of the organization first,” Breslow said, “but I should also be evaluating every interaction I have with players, and I’ll continue to do that.”

Whether Devers eventually accepts moving to first — which could free up a lineup spot for Roman Anthony, the top prospect in baseball, or incumbent DH Masataka Yoshida after he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery — is a “secondary” issue at the moment, Breslow said.

“That decision was never going to be made on a couch in an office in Kansas City,” he said, “and that conversation is ongoing. The most important thing here is we believe that we’ve got a really good team that’s capable of winning a bunch of games and playing meaningful games down the stretch. That’s what we need to remain focused on.”

Added Cora: “The plan is to keep having conversations.”