Editorial notebook
Melting objectivity

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Our Founding Fathers were right to abandon the District of Columbia each August for cooler climes. A recent visit to the nation's capital found a colorless sky radiating hot and wet like a St. Bernard's breath.

And at a gathering of more than 8,000 reporters, editors and publishers, any semblance of journalistic objectivity was melting away in the summer steam.

One day, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry received fervent applause, whistling and, at the end, a standing ovation. On a different day but for the same crowd, President Bush received tepid applause, laughter at his verbal gaffes and questions meant to elicit nothing more than entertaining answers.

It was clear why the two men jumped at the chance to address the influential minority journalists who make up Unity: Journalists of Color, Inc. What was unclear is why the audience descended into conduct found in the bleachers section of a sports match.

There may be reason to dislike Bush — his anti-affirmative-action stance comes to mind — but that doesn't excuse poor manners. Or the inability to do our jobs at a pivotal moment.

By cheering Kerry and laughing at Bush, we forgot the reason we were there. We guaranteed little in the way of real news could occur. Kerry didn't need to exert himself much. He walked in with the audience in the palm of his hand. And Bush wasn't about to take the chance of further alienating an already alienated crowd.

Too bad. It would have been nice to return to our newsrooms with breaking news after having had access to two of the most powerful men in the free world. Moreover, such a show of partisanship gave proof of media bias to anyone still in doubt.

Journalists are people, too. They vote, pay their taxes and care about issues affecting their lives and their families. Minority journalists feel this citizens' role more acutely because our very presence evolved out of the tumultuous civil-rights movement.

But the practice of journalism dictates objectivity, or at least fairness.

The next time journalists are in the presence of a George Bush or a John Kerry, we should think less about scoring points and more about attaining critical information voters will need to make their choice this fall.

— Lynne K. Varner