Bart Ah You,
The Modesto Bee
Balanced and Fair
Reporting Extends
to All People
Stories that engage us emotionally are the most difficult to report and write. We want our team to win, the other to lose. We think this woman will make a better mayor than that old-time politician. We believe so much in that company president's honesty, we don't need to check out his assertions.
We admire the self-made professional and turn away from the down-and-out as shiftless and probably alcoholic or drug-addicted. We don't bother listening to him, trying to understand her.
The result is that the story we write does not conform to the requirements of journalism—it is missing the basic components of fairness, balance, verification and the other necessities that mark the reliable news story.
The fully functioning reporter refuses to distance himself or herself from reality and takes to each assignment an objectivity that does not exclude compassion and understanding.