“Is Objectivity Essential to Journalism?” Open to Debate Tapes Virtual Debate Monday, July 10

Journalistic objectivity — or providing relevant facts and evidence to a news article and letting the audience decide their opinions on an article — has long been journalism’s gold standard. But newsrooms are debating that meaning since that standard was filtered through the lens of predominantly white, male editors and journalists for many decades, affirming a very specific worldview. As many journalists in increasingly diverse newsrooms ask, is it correct or fair to ask people to suppress their identities and opinions when covering stories that examine a wide array of social issues, especially when those lived experiences may bring audiences closer to the truth? Those who argue “yes” say the continued pursuit of objectivity is the only way to avoid personal biases and exclusion of perspectives, thus maintaining a reader’s trust and protecting democracy. Just because objectivity is hard to practice doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be a desirable goal. Those who argue “no” say it obstructs the journalist’s ability to get to the truth of a news story and opens the doors for diversity in coverage, rather than upholding an outdated status quo. They add doing so, while being clear and direct, would increase readers’ trust and confidence in the media they are consuming. In that context, award-winning debate series Open to Debate (formerly known as Intelligence Squared US) will tape a virtual debate on the question: “Is Objectivity Essential to Journalism?”

Arguing “YES” is New York Times opinion columnist Bret Stephens. Arguing “NO” is former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie. Nayeema Raza, co-host of Vox Media’s "On with Kara Swisher" podcast, will serve as guest moderator.

While the debate will not be released widely until August 11, via public radio, video and the Open to Debate podcast, press are invited to attend and ask questions at the live virtual taping on Monday, July 10 at 3:00 PM ET. Media can email raypadgett@shorefire.com for virtual access.

PARTICIPANT BIOS

* Bret Stephens: Opinion Columnist at The New York Times
Bret Stephens is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, and a political contributor at NBC and MSNBC. Prior to joining the Times, he worked at the Wall Street Journal where he was the deputy editorial page editor in charge of international opinion and, for 11 years, the principal foreign-affairs columnist. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post. At The Jerusalem Post, he oversaw the paper’s news, editorial, digital, and international operations, and wrote a weekly column. Stephens is the author of “America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder,” “The Dying Art of Disagreement,” and “Has Obama Made the World a More Dangerous Place?: The Munk Debate on U.S. Foreign Policy.” He is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including three honorary doctorates, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in his columns on American foreign policy and domestic politics. He is also the editor-in-chief of SAPIR: A Journal of Jewish Conversations, which is published by the Maimonides Fund. Stephens holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago and an MSc. from the London School of Economics.

* Leonard Downie: former executive editor of The Washington Post
Leonard Downie was an executive editor of The Washington Post from 1991 to 2008 and spent 44 years in the Post’s newsroom where he helped supervise the newspaper’s Watergate coverage, oversaw the coverage of every national election from 1984 through 2008, and worked as an investigative reporter, editor on the local and national news staffs, London correspondent, and a managing editor under then-executive editor Ben Bradlee. He is also the Weil Family Professor of Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School at Arizona State University. Downie is the author of seven books, including “The New Muckrakers,” “The News About the News: American Journalism in Peril” (with Robert G. Kaiser), “The News Media: What Everyone Needs to Know” (with C. W. Anderson and Michael Schudson), “All About the Story: News, Power, Politics and The Washington Post,” and “The Rules of the Game”. He is also the author of two Committee to Protect Journalism special reports, “The Obama Administration and the Press” and “The Trump Administration and the Media,” and two reports, "Beyond Objectivity - Producing Trustworthy News in Today’s Newsrooms" (with Andrew Heyward) and “The Reconstruction of American Journalism” (with Michael Schudson). Downie is a founder and former board member of Investigative Reporters and Editors, and the chairman of the Board of Advisers of Kaiser Health News.

* Guest Moderator Nayeema Raza: journalist and executive producer and co-host of Vox Media’s "On with Kara Swisher" podcast
Nayeema Raza is a journalist and filmmaker whose work has appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, and the Tribeca Film Festival. She is currently the Executive Producer and Co-Host of the Vox Media podcast, "On with Kara Swisher." Raza was previously a Senior Editor at The New York Times where she spent two years running "Sway," an Opinion podcast that frequently featured news-making interviews with leaders in media, politics, and technology and which extensively covered disinformation on topics from Sandy Hook to January 6th and beyond. Prior to this, she was a Senior Producer in the Opinion Section of the Times, where she developed video op-eds on topics like immigration and internet privacy. She has also penned essays on modern culture for The New York Times and for The Cut. Her film and TV credits include writing and producing the documentary feature "Sublime," which premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, as well as executive producing the CBS All Access documentary series, "That Animal Rescue Series," of which one episode was selected for the 2020 Telluride Film Festival. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America, a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is on the Young Patrons Leadership Committee of PEN America.

ABOUT OPEN TO DEBATE
Open to Debate addresses a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. We are the nation's only nonpartisan, debate-driven media organization dedicated to bringing multiple viewpoints together for a constructive, balanced, respectful exchange of ideas. Open to Debate is a platform for intellectually curious and open-minded people to engage with others holding opposing views on complex issues. We know debate works to find common ground: On average, 32% of the Open to Debate audience changes their mind on contentious topics after hearing a debate. That’s the power of debate done right, and at scale, it can change the direction we’re headed in America. Open to Debate is broadcast as a weekly public radio program, carried on NPR stations including WNYC (#1 in the nation). Open to Debate is made available as a podcast, video series, and digital platform, and records episodes with live audiences nationwide. Visit opentodebate.org to become a member, access an archive of more than 220 debates, and attend live events.