Yes We Can (Disclose Our Votes)

I wonder, though, James...at what point does a disclosed vote become an endorsement? Most reporters don't have that kind of influence yet, but a few do. I could see at the start of an election cycle a few high-end reporters like Helen Thomas or Bob Woodward being courted by a campaign for a vote. That would greatly interfere with their ability to report ON a candidate (like how Oscar voters are treated during awards season).

And then, what about full news institutions, like The Washington Post? You could say that they are left-leaning, but thinking back to the primaries, it was a bloody battle between Hillary and Obama, and an endorsement of either of them--not just by the editorial board, but by 85% of the staff-- would have made a difference.

I'm still not convinced that such disclosure is a good idea. I'm not a reporter, but as the program director for a public TV station, I've always believed that my editorial role requires me to play my political cards close to the chest.

It doesn't matter whether or not (in my case, not) I act on my political preferences when selecting programs for our schedule. My experience has been that the sort of people who accuse us of bias pay no heed to our overall work. "You're biased" inevitably translates to "You ran this one show in which this one guy said something I didn't like." (And even though we've been accused both of being too conservative and too liberal, no one has ever accused us of being biased IN FAVOR of their own side.)

I don't see what's gained by giving them a match and a can of gas. They're never going to say, "Their program director may be a Ron Paul supporter, but look at how even-handed he is." It's going to be "You ran that show in which that guy said that Ron Paul was a snappy dresser, and I will never support you again because of your obvious Ron Paul bias." (Granted, they may say that anyway, but I've got no desire to "confirm" their media bias fantasies.)

Perception is everything, and as long as there's such a concerted effort by certain well-placed, strident parties to firmly plant the idea of a "liberal media" (or, to a lesser extent, a conservative one), the reality of how those of us with the responsibility to be "fair and balanced" actually do our jobs makes no difference to the howling hordes.

Yes, twenty-plus years working in broadcast TV has made me exactly this cynical.