Uri Berliner’s exposure of NPR, James Bennet’s truth-telling about the New York Times and the recent outrage at CBS News over an allegedly edited interview are just the latest signs of something we’ve all been seeing for over a decade. The online newspapers and electronic outlets that used to speak with authority are broken. Americans aren’t paying attention to any of them any more. And the legacy media isn’t coming back.
It’s no longer a matter of hiring more independent-minded and conservative journalists—or, in language the heads of journalism schools might be more accustomed to, hiring journalists that look more like America. Hiring decisions aren’t going to redeem the media because it hasn’t abandoned conservativism; it has abandoned journalism.
In the minds of today’s young reporters, our very idea of journalism is flawed—because it seeks to be objective. Objectivity, they contend, is a tool of white supremacy and a “fetish” among the insufficiently progressive. Their open goal now is activism.
I’m not ready to give up on objective journalism, with honest reporters dedicated to telling the whole story—and letting the reader decide. It’s not just me; throughout the country, news organizations, big and small, new and established, are reporting the news responsibly. Some are startups, some are arms of long-established institutions. What they all have in common is a dedication to delivering the news free of bias.
Now it’s time for us independent and conservative journalists to work together. Think of the Associated Press, without the wokeness. That’s the idea behind the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s project, the Associated News Service.
The ANS will have three components: content sharing between members, collaboration among news organizations, and professional development.
Member organizations can share as much or as little of their content as they like; if they want to keep a piece as an exclusive, they’re free to do so. Editors can pull as much content as they like from the wire to run. And because member organizations will sign on to our statement of standards and ethics, editors can be sure that the material from other ANS members will be up to their standards.
Collaboration will also be an important part of the ANS. Nearly all of the issues we cover have federal, state and local aspects. By working together, we can give readers more in-depth and comprehensive coverage of today’s news.
This has already proven successful; in late September, I led a team of reporters from three different news organizations on a trip to the southern U.S. border, to see it for themselves. Their outstanding work has culminated in a three-part series, published simultaneously by the Daily Signal and the Dallas Express.
And the ANS will offer opportunities for professional development. I have led newsrooms for many years, and I can mentor editors and coach writers. We will have monthly brown bag seminars via Zoom, on topics of interest to young reporters. In the future, there’s room for professional classes and retreats, all aimed at making our reporters better journalists.
The goal of the ANS will be to support news outlets, not to compete with them. There will be no outward-facing news site for the ANS.
Over in its corner, NPR is struggling for relevance, watching its listenership drift away. Newspapers continue to decline in both subscriptions and quality. And even as more and more Americans say they get their news “from social media,” they know inherently they can’t trust what they see on their feeds.
But people still want the news—news they can trust. And there are news outlets throughout the country that haven’t surrendered to wokeness and activism. The Associated News Service will come alongside them, and help in their efforts to deliver the news—fairly and impartially.
Roy Maynard joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation in October of 2017 as Senior Writer. He now also serves as editor of The Cannon Online and the Associated News Service. Roy was in the news industry for more than 30 years. Most recently he was senior editor of the Tyler Morning Telegraph.