Sunday’s Virginian-Pilot carried two articles – one by news editor Denis Finley and another by editorial page editor Donald Luzzatto – in which they attempt to explain the long tradition of the two parts of the newspaper being separate. Of the news, Finley writes:
Our goal is to provide an authoritative, credible, helpful and unique news report every day. We strive to be fair and objective. If we have an agenda, it’s to tell the truth, to hold public officials and institutions accountable, and to give you a feel for the fabric of this beautiful place we call home.
Luzzatto writes:
On the editorial pages, we celebrate opinion. We pursue perspective. Some of the opinions are ours. Most come from readers and other writers. All of it strives to identify – through a ruthless process of deduction and induction – the best solution to a problem and then to advocate for it.
First of all, kudos to them for finally attempting to explain how the business is supposed to work. Reading through the various comments on PilotOnline over the years, it is clear that many readers do not get this distinction. (For that matter, I’m not sure the folks who run PilotOnline get it – after all, the Opinion section is included in the News dropdown on the site.)
I have no doubt that wall between the two parts of the newspaper exist. Where I have a problem is when it is obvious that opinion creeps into what is supposed to be news. When a reporter uses a single source for a story, that is opinion in the news. When a reporter editorializes what s/he has learned, that is opinion creeping into the news.
Bias is human nature. To overcome it requires first acknowledging that it exists and then working diligently to try to eliminate it. That’s what the editors are for – to catch the blind spots that a reporter might miss in his/her own writing, not just to correct grammar or spelling errors.
But bias and opinion are not necessarily the same thing. Bias cannot be completely eliminated from news reporting. But opinion can – and should be – eliminated. I suggest Finley take that paragraph above and make every reporter in the newsroom read it every day – and the newsroom editors, twice a day.
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As for blogs, no such wall exists, which makes it hard for readers to know when a blogger is reporting the news versus offering an opinion. There are times here on this blog where I simply report what I’ve learned. Even when I do so, some folks think I’m offering my opinion. I have, for example, posted the videos from the Norfolk Federation of Civic Leagues Candidates Forum. In each case, in addition to the video, I’ve provided the names of the candidates, links to their websites and a brief bio. Separately, I provided my opinion of the forum, although not of the candidates who participated. I’ve taken grief for doing both.
What I try to do here is a bit of both. As my Republican friends will attest, I occasionally attend their events, just to get a sense of who it is I’m dealing with. Sometimes I report on those, sometimes it’s just background information for later. Anyone running for office around here that doesn’t have me on their email list is making a mistake in assuming that I will not write about them. I posted Daun Hester’s announcement video and Paul Fraim’s State of the City speech – and took grief for both.
If I’m taking heat, it must mean I’m doing something right 🙂
Seriously – I think it’s pretty clear when I’m voicing my opinion. Expect a little more of it over the next few days as I announce my choices in the upcoming Norfolk elections.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Hey, I didn’t have you on my email list… 🙂
Well…
On your brief comment about comments on Pilot Online – I mostly wish the Pilot would just turn off the comments section. The vast majority of comments are inane and add nothing to understanding or dialog. Or if not turned off, perhaps moderated. I am continually unhappy about the lack of thought, concern, compassion and just plain understanding & good sense reflected in the comments. To me, most comments just reflect HR at its worst. 😦
I tend to agree that far too many of the comments there reflect HR at its worst.
If they moderated comments (and I’ve seen them step in when things get out of hand), the staff would have to be bigger. I just don’t know if they have the time for that. One thing you may not be aware of is the ability of registered users to hide comments. That can be a useful tool.
The other thing is that people like yourself can jump in and try to correct things.