In (Partial) Defence of Jeff Bezos – by Ian Leslie:In th...

In (Partial) Defence of Jeff Bezos – by Ian Leslie:

In the early twentieth century, as information became more valuable, newspapers put more emphasis on being accurate reporters of reality. Journalism developed into a profession with a commitment to the truth regardless of political interests. These two roles, advocacy and objectivity, have co-existed somewhat uncomfortably ever since; embodied, in the US, by the separation of opinion and editorial departments.

But in the twenty-first century, the world is overflowing with opinion and activism, and desperately short on fair, objective reporting. Newspapers should still host individual opinion columns, which help people think about the news, but their most important and valuable function is to bring the news. The idea that they should endorse political candidates or positions as institutions makes as much sense as it does for universities. It’s not just that doing so is superfluous; it’s that, as Bezos says, it actually undermines journalism at a time when the profession is in crisis.