News-Record.com

It doesn't take much for many of our white politicians and business leaders to use their bully pulpits to complain about newspaper coverage. They don't often put it in terms of race; normally, it involves a concern that we're too negative or we are anti-business. Rare is the conversation I have when someone doesn't complain about the newspaper. Shoot, we don't review a theater performance and backers send an e-mail to their mailing list busting our chops.

This isn't exclusive to the News & Record. It is common lore in journalism that no one likes their hometown paper. That's hyperbole, of course, but there's some truth to it. When you shine light into dark places and ask questions that people don't want to answer, you can expect this reaction.

So, too, when what we report doesn't reflect what others see or hear or feel. Skip Alston says that Willie Best is fired because he is black. Others say he wasn't competent. Do we have to take a side to be more trusted by one of the sides? As yesterday's editorial points out, Dianne Bellamy-Small was disrespected during the council's polygraph fiasco, but the votes of two African American council members help put her in that position. Bellamy-Small asked us to get her off the hook, which we couldn't do. So, did we contribute to her being disrespected? Raising questions about how Project Homestead spent public funds became in some people's minds an issue of race, rather than an issue of proper oversight of taxpayer money.

And of course, there is the MO used by politicians everywhere these days -- blame and bash the media. (See President Bush and the New York Times.) It plays to the base.

Although it's occasionally true, it's simplistic to say that if you're being criticized by both sides, then you must be doing something right. (It does indicate the importance of independence.) We want to reflect reality. Sometimes we get it wrong, but mostly we get it right. People complain for a variety of reasons. We learn from their complaints and correct our errors.

For the non-specific, broad-brush condemnation made from a podium, get used to it, Joe. It comes with being part of mainstream media. Pursue the truth and you'll be OK.

From the Project for Excellence in Journalism:

Democracy depends on citizens having reliable, accurate facts put in a meaningful context. Journalism does not pursue truth in an absolute or philosophical sense, but it can--and must--pursue it in a practical sense. This "journalistic truth" is a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts. Then journalists try to convey a fair and reliable account of their meaning, valid for now, subject to further investigation. Journalists should be as transparent as possible about sources and methods so audiences can make their own assessment of the information. Even in a world of expanding voices, accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else is built--context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and debate. The truth, over time, emerges from this forum. As citizens encounter an ever greater flow of data, they have more need--not less--for identifiable sources dedicated to verifying that information and putting it in context.

Read the rest.