On a recent Saturday afternoon in Carmel, 115 residents packed into a meeting room to hear journalists, including David Kellogg of The Herald, discuss the state of the news industry. The audience skewed older, and their media habits reflected a more traditional era. They read newspapers, watch the 6 o’clock news and tune into NPR.
Given their background, it was no surprise that their questions reflected deep concerns about the changing media landscape. Many squeezed into the Carmel Foundation’s Diment Hall worried that today’s news cycle is driven more by social media than by a commitment to objective journalism. They wondered about the rise of click-driven content, and the challenge of distinguishing credible reporting from misinformation in an era of digital noise.
One questioner wanted to understand how journalists can remain truly independent when working for news outlets owned by corporations or large organizations. The panelists assured her that they cover stories that have local impact and are not dictated by bosses in faraway offices.
This panel discussion, organized by Susan Meister, a journalist and founder of the Monterey Media Literacy Coalition, brought together five journalists (myself, Kellogg, Sara Rubin of Monterey County Now, Amy Mayer of KAZU radio, Scott Rates of KION television) to explore how newsrooms maintain accuracy and fairness in their reporting. As a member of the coalition, I’ve also participated in a previous media literacy event in Monterey.
Meister, for her part, is leading media literacy initiatives across the Monterey Peninsula, collaborating with schools, communities and newsrooms. She is building an impressive coalition to equip news consumers with the media literacy skills needed to navigate today’s complex media landscape.
She moderated the Carmel discussion and kept the conversation on track for a solid 90 minutes. We could have continued much longer, as the audience had many more questions than we had time to answer. We even answered questions as we milled around afterward with audience members.
In preparing for this discussion, I made notes on several topics I hoped to cover on the role of editors. Due to time constraints, I wasn’t able to address all of them.
In nearly five decades working in newsrooms, I’ve experienced every aspect of the newsgathering process, from starting as a rookie reporter to eventually serving as editor-in-chief.
Newsroom editors play many crucial roles, including ensuring that stories are fact-checked for accuracy and fairness. They uphold ethical standards and provide clarity and context to the stories you read, watch, or listen to. Editors also ensure that complex stories are presented in an accessible and understandable way for news consumers.
Editors play a vital and multifaceted purpose in the news process. A story doesn’t just go from the reporter’s notepad into the news ecosystem. For example, reporting complex data and statistics is one thing, but explaining what they mean is the true role of reporters and their editors.
There are many steps to getting a story published or on the air. After reporters gather information, editors and news directors shape and refine the story, guiding it through the process to ensure accuracy and impact before it reaches the audience. This was all explained in Carmel.
While the panel discussion focused on the role of editors, other questions were also on the minds of the audience members. They were curious, for example, about how artificial intelligence might change newsrooms. Will newsrooms of the future be a bunch of robots spinning out news gathered from the internet?
One thing is certain: If news outlet owners can find efficiencies through AI without harming local news, they will adopt it. At my former paper, The Fresno Bee, AI had been used to gather data on monthly home sales and generate stories based on those statistics.
However, AI bots are still far from replacing the crucial human element of journalism. They aren’t going out to interview crime victims, city council members or athletes after games. Human journalists and their editors remain essential in gathering firsthand accounts, providing context and directly connecting with sources.
The panel discussion on the role of editors in the journalism process highlighted the evolving challenges and responsibilities editors face in an ever-changing media landscape. As the industry continues to grapple with issues like misinformation, AI and financial sustainability, editors remain essential in running newsrooms and upholding journalistic standards.
The conversation in Carmel served as a reminder of the crucial role editors play in shaping the future of journalism.
Jim Boren retired as executive editor of The Fresno Bee in 2018 and is now executive director of the Fresno State Institute for Media and Public Trust.
