NPR Ethics Handbook

NPR’s new public ethics handbook:

At all times, we report for our readers and listeners, not our sources. So our primary consideration when presenting the news is that we are fair to the truth. If our sources try to mislead us or put a false spin on the information they give us, we tell our audience. If the balance of evidence in a matter of controversy weighs heavily on one side, we acknowledge it in our reports. We strive to give our audience confidence that all sides have been considered and represented fairly.

Did you catch the really important part? If the balance of evidence in a matter of controversy weighs heavily on one side, we acknowledge it in our reports.

What NPR is saying is that fairness is only owed to the truth and not to any particular side of a story. For instance, NPR would not devote equal time to people who claim that allowing babies to smoke cigarettes is responsible.¹ Why? Because that side is so extreme that equal inclusion belies its truth.

The next time that you laud a news organization for being “fair and balanced”, consider that one side may actually be artificially propped up on the seesaw of reality. I firmly believe this country would be better informed if fairness was directed at truth and not loud voices. Kudos to NPR.