The U.S. Can't Agree On The Truth. Is It The Media's Job To Fix That?

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🗓️ 4 June 2021

⏱️ 14 minutes

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Summary

Freedom of the press is enshrined in the Constitution as crucial to a functioning democracy. But what role does the press serve when it feels like the country can't agree on basic facts? NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with a handful of journalists to hear how they're navigating this divide.

This episode feature's CBS's Leslie Stahl, CNN's Jake Tapper, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe, Dawn Rhodes of Block Club Chicago and Sherry Liang of the University of Georgia's Red & Black newspaper.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Here's the question I get asked a lot these days. How can we, as in we the press, help
0:05.5	bring the country to a common agreed upon set of facts? I'll be honest, I don't quite know,
0:11.6	but I was talking recently with CNN anchor Jake Tapper. And he says he landed on one partial
0:17.7	solution to this problem during Donald Trump's first run at the presidency. Tapper says he decided
0:23.5	to boldly call out lies. In May 2016, he falsely started suggesting that Ted Cruz's father had a
0:32.2	hand in the Kennedy assassination. I cannot believe I need to say the following, but here goes.
0:37.2	There is no corroborated evidence that Ted Cruz's father ever met Lee Harvey Oswald, or for
0:43.7	that matter any other presidential assassin. We in the mean I just went on air and said now that's
0:49.5	not an anti-Trump position or a pro-Cruz position. It's a pro-truth position. And I have been trying
0:58.4	to report from that perspective since. Can I ask you a question? It's Leslie Stahl.
1:05.6	Yep, entering the conversation with Jake Tapper and me is long time 60 minutes correspondent
1:11.2	Leslie Stahl. We had invited multiple accomplished broadcast journalists to hop on a video call to
1:17.2	wrestle with questions about facts, the press, and our democracy. And it became clear pretty quickly
1:23.7	even journalists can't agree on the best way forward. When you say those things, you're talking to
1:29.7	your audience, which you know isn't buying Trump's line. So you're talking to people who are
1:37.2	inclined to listen to you. You're not talking to the Fox audience. First of all, that's true, but
1:42.4	I'm not trying to appease CNN viewers or appeal to them. All you can do is tell the news and
1:49.0	share the news and give the facts and hope that people will just respect that.
1:54.2	Consider this. A free press is enshrined in the Constitution. It is essential to American democracy.
2:01.0	For a defunction and speak to all Americans requires an agreed upon set of facts, but that
2:06.2	agreement feels more elusive than ever. Today we'll take a look at how a handful of journalists
2:11.6	are navigating that divide. For MNPR, I'm Mary Louise Kelly. It's Friday, June 4th.
	...

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