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Prof. Jeff McCall '76 Offers Thoughts on "Surprising Venture" of New York Times

Prof. Jeff McCall '76 Offers Thoughts on "Surprising Venture" of New York Times

September 8, 2018

"The journalism profession has been challenged in many ways during the Trump administration, with the media industry itself often becoming part of the news," writes Jeffrey M. McCall, professor of communication at DePauw University, in The Hill. "That trend continued this week when the New York Times decided to run an anonymous Trump bashing op-ed from a so-called 'senior administration official.' That choice runs against a journalistic standard that has served the profession well for decades."

In a column for the newspaper of Capitol Hill, Dr. McCall states, "Media organizations traditionally expect people who want to publicly express their stances to take full and transparent ownership of their viewpoints. People who want to engage the public sphere, it is reasoned, should be brave enough to attach their names to their screeds, especially when criticizing other parties. Further, this practice protects a news outlet from possible accusations that such op-eds could have been fabricated by the news organization itself."

The media studies professor offers, "Surely, the Times would not allow an anonymous White House official to pen a well-written op-ed in which the writer lauds Trump and tells the nation the administration is functioning effectively. Identifying the writer in general terms as a 'senior administration official' simply doesn’t allow the public enough context to fully assess the op-ed’s assertions. And, as many analysts have since noted, the field of people who could be labeled 'senior official' in any administration is quite broad."

McCall adds, "This latest episode of 'exposing' the commotion that prevails in the White House appears to mostly just confirm what the nation already knows about Trump’s administration. His own daily tweets leave little doubt that he is mercurial and impulsive ... Thus, the Times’ surprising venture into greenlighting an anonymous op-ed is more about the Times itself, as opposed to honorably serving the civic needs of the nation. TOWER 3The decision has put the Times squarely in the news agendas of all leading and competing news outlets. It has reinforced the Times’ image as a leading Trump antagonist. It has generated countless clicks at the Times web site."

The column concludes, "The New York Times has long been the role model for many in the journalism industry. Don’t expect this latest decision about allowing an anonymous op-ed to be accepted by the rest of the news profession. That’s because the established practice of identifying opinion writers has proven to be sound, fair, and necessary. The editor of the Smalltown Journal surely knows that requiring op-ed writers to claim their own comments assures a credibility and accountability to a community’s public discourse."

You'll find the complete essay at the publication's website.

A 1976 graduate of DePauw and a former journalist, Jeff McCall returned to the University in 1985 as a faculty member.  He is the author of Viewer Discretion Advised: Taking Control of Mass Media Influences and is regularly quoted in stories on media matters.  Earlier this week he talked with Fox News about the Times op-ed.

Source: The Hill

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