Newspapers can make their own judgment in terms of who they support in a general election. Our responsibility is to make a considered judgment about where the national interest lies.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I worry that we're not getting enough of the news that we need to make informed judgments as citizens.
Some newspapers have a hands-off policy on favored politicians. But it's generally very small newspapers or local TV stations.
You can never get all the facts from just one newspaper, and unless you have all the facts, you cannot make proper judgements about what is going on.
We have got to make sure there is proper independent scrutiny and accountability for people in the press, just as there should be in any other industry where things go wrong. But let's not try and think it is for politicians or governments to tell people what they stick in newspapers. That is deeply illiberal.
I think about the question of perspective in reporting all the time, and since I spent 20 years of my career in Washington as both a reporter and an editor I'm keenly aware that a newspaper should not be dominated by stories in which the only voices and perspective come from those in power.
A journalist covering politics, most of us are aware of the necessity to try to be sure we're unbiased in our reporting. That's one of the fundamentals of good journalism.
Everyone should get their news however they want to and in whatever form they want. I'm not going to sit back in judgment of other people and the way they do it.
As Americans, we rightfully place tremendous value on having a free and independent press. Our role as journalists is to give voice to the voiceless, and hold our leaders and institutions accountable. But the circle is only completed when that information is consumed by a free-thinking and engaged audience.
The democratic approach to news is a very valuable thing. We're always going to be dependent on the quality of reporting of mainstream media.
Opinions are a private matter. The public has an interest only in judgments.