Put the damn paper out: Why the newsroom is a bedrock of American democracy

[Commentary] The newsroom is the defining institution of journalism and a miracle of social organization. It teaches young people the practices and values of responsible, accurate journalism; it applies multiple layers of professional judgment to prevent error and make difficult editorial calls; it creates the sense of mission and teamwork that inspire professionalism and dedication; it sifts news sources from all over the world while staying minutely tuned to the local community; it organizes and sustains complex investigative projects; it provides accountability and discipline when things go wrong. And, somehow, it melds all of that into a coherent product.

President Donald Trump’s attacks on the press (“enemies of the American people”) seem to have inspired something of a pro-media backlash. A poll conducted by the Freedom Forum Institute last year found 43 percent of respondents said that the media try to report the news without bias, an impressive 20-point increase over 2016. If sustained, that trend is heartening, and it reflects a heartening reality: In the face of an unprecedented demagogic onslaught, the mainstream media have done an extraordinary job. Though my own newspaper days are long past, I have never been as proud of my newsroom training as I am right now, and those five people who died in Annapolis (MD) show why. 

[Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at Brookings]