What is the Journalist’s Creed for the 21st Century?
“I believe in the profession of journalism. I believe that the public journal is a public trust; that all connected with it are, to the full measure of their responsibility, trustees for the public; that acceptance of a lesser service than the public service is betrayal of this trust.”
Those words guided my career for more than 40 years, from the time I first heard them in a high school newspaper class until I recently retired from The Seattle Times, where I spent 20 years as executive editor. The words begin “The Journalist’s Creed,” written by Walter Williams, who founded the world’s first journalism school at the University of Missouri 100 years ago.
Some of the creed’s language is antiquated, but its core principles have endured: clarity, accuracy, fairness, truth and independence. Two fundamental changes prompt the question about the 21st Century Creed:
The first is an undeniable change in the relationship between journalists and the public. From Williams’ day forward, journalism was mostly a one-way relationship. His creed was written at a time when information was scarce and access to it was limited. Williams’ creed called upon journalists to be trustworthy because they were the trustees who decided what best served the public.
Now people have nearly limitless access to information, allowing them to exercising their own news judgment. They are increasingly serving as reporters and editors for themselves and others. Indeed, the case has been made that “We’re all journalists now.”
The second fundamental change is the deterioration of the business model that supported professional journalism through the past century. As I’ve watched that decline accelerate, I’ve wondered whether the spirit of public-service journalism can be sustained. Is Walter Williams’ belief that “the supreme test of good journalism is the measure of its public service” still viable, or even relevant?
I believe it is. Unclear is how the profession of journalism can remain independent and socially responsible.
I am exploring these issues as a Fellow at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism. This blog is part of that exploration.
Welcome to the conversation.
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