[News Article] We must ask tough questions in era of misinformation, says New York Times chairman
We
must ask tough questions in era of misinformation, says New York Times chairman BY SARAH KIM, Korea JoongAng Daily - A. G. Sulzberger,
chairman and publisher of The New York Times, stressed that "democracy
depends" on quality journalism to help bring the public closer to the
truth amid rampant disinformation. "This is an era of misinformation,"
Sulzberger said as he sat for an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily, a
publishing partner of the New York Times, and the JoongAng Ilbo at Seoul
National University (SNU) in Gwanak District, southern Seoul, on Thursday.
"We need an independent news organization seeking the truth. This is an
era of polarization. We need independent news organizations helping people
understand each other." Noting that distrust in journalism is "a really
significant challenge," Sulzberger stressed that independent reporters
"surface the hidden information and ask the tough questions so that the
public can know the full truth, and democracy depends on someone playing that
role." With the United States set to hold its presidential
election in November next year and Korea its parliamentary elections in April,
Sulzberger stressed that "politicians actually have an important
role" in preventing the spread of disinformation and promoting responsible
journalism. "Politicians in many parts of the world had been
using rhetoric, like 'fake news' and 'enemy of the people' to demonize
journalism," he said, oftentimes "for short-term advantages for
themselves." Sulzberger called this "anti-patriotic,"
adding that a "democratic leader should know that a free press has an
important role to play." During his time as an editor at The New York Times,
Sulzberger authored the now famous "Innovation Report" in 2014,
leading a team of journalists and experts on a sweeping audit of the paper's
digital practices and guiding its successful digital transformation. As the chief architect of the company's shift into the
digital media era and its business strategy, Sulzberger has helped increase The
Times's digital subscriber base to nearly 10 million from 800,000 in 2014. Around a decade ago, The Times, like other media
outlets, faced "really profound pressure" over how to approach a
digital shift. Sulzberger said that his report had one central idea,
which was the need for a "culture shift," one that was "more
creative, collaborative, experimental" and more "oriented around the
digital product than the print one." This shift meant reporters left behind their longtime
obsession with being featured on the much-coveted front page of the newspaper
and embraced the reach of The Times' newer platforms, such as its popular
podcast, The Daily. "The thing that every reporter secretly wants is
to have their story selected for this day as The Daily," he said.
"And that culture change, I think, unlocked a lot of creativity once we
started to recognize that we could do work that was just as important, just as
serious and just as good, in totally different formats, and reaching totally different
people." In May 2021, The New York Times officially launched its
new Asia hub in central Seoul after moving its digital news operation from its
decades-old headquarters in Hong Kong. This followed a decision to relocate its
news operation the previous year in response to concerns about a sweeping
national security law passed by China. "The increasing crackdowns that accelerated in
2020 on free speech and the free press made it clear to us that we would have
to relocate the bulk of our operations," Sulzberger said on the move. "The sad truth is that the region doesn't have a
ton of options. And of those options, Korea stood out for having some strong
protections." He noted that while Korea is not perfect, having an
"overly broad defamation law," Seoul "stood out as being more
hospitable to a press with a vibrant media culture." Later Thursday, Sulzberger gave a keynote address on
the topic of "The Threat to the Free Press" to SNU students and
faculty, addressing the need to fight for independent journalism and assessing
the challenges. "I'm here today because Korea has moved toward
embracing free expression while others in the region have retreated," he
said to students, referring to the relocation from Hong Kong. "This
country stood out as more tolerant of a vibrant, independent media." He said the "very different trajectories of Hong
Kong and Seoul — one city suppressing speech and stagnating, the other
embracing speech and rising — shows the wisdom of that belief." Sulzberger also addressed the many risks faced in
journalism, including the loss of jobs, the rise of technology giants and
social media, the advent of AI and increasing polarization. He said former U.S. President Donald Trump had a hand
in growing "opportunistic and unprecedented attacks on the rights and
legitimacy of the press." "We can't take press freedom for granted,"
Sulzberger said. "In countless places around the world, including the
United States, we are seeing growing threats to the free press and even eroding
support for the idea of free expression." He also warned that the "rise of AI, which many
estimate will have produced over 90 percent of all online content in just a few
years, will only further blur the line between what's real and what
isn't." Sulzberger sat for a fireside chat with and Carolyn
Ryan, managing editor, and Choe Sang-hun, the Seoul Bureau Chief, moderated by
Prof. Lee Eun-ju, an associate dean of academic affairs at SNU's College of
Social Sciences, to further discuss the role of journalism in society and
combating disinformation. Sulzberger made his first visit to Seoul this week. He
was accompanied by other executives and editors from The Times, including
Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, the president international of The New York Times
Company, in his visit to SNU. A graduate of Brown University, Sulzberger previously
worked as a reporter at The Providence Journal and The Oregonian. He later
joined The Times working as a metro reporter, national correspondent, associate
editor for newsroom strategy and deputy publisher before taking over from his
father as publisher in 2017. He is the sixth member of the Ochs-Sulzberger family to
serve as publisher at The Times, since the newspaper was purchased by Adolph
Ochs in a bankruptcy sale in 1896. The Times was founded in 1851 and currently
reports from over 160 countries. The following are edited excerpts of the interview. Q. In 2014, you came up with the Innovation Report,
leading The New York Times to its digital transformation. What was the thought
process behind the report, and can you say that its initial vision and goals
have been achieved some 10 years later? A. At the time, we were experiencing something that I
think every newspaper in the world has experienced, which is the really
profound pressure that the shift to digital put on our business and our
audience. At the time, everyone had ideas about what to do. And what I really
believed more than anything was that you need to create a culture that is
willing to keep up with the pace of change of our audience and of the world
that we cover. The innovation report was full of specific ideas [ …] But it
really was built on one central idea, which is we needed a culture shift. And
that was to a culture that was more creative, collaborative, experimental, and
much, much more oriented around the digital product than the print one. If that
was a very big, but fairly abstract idea, around a theory of change, the
exciting thing was how quickly really great ideas for change started emerging. For 160 years, the most important part of the New York
Times was the front page of the newspaper. And if you were a reporter, all you
wanted to do was get your story out to the front page of the newspaper. That
was the best, best thing that could happen. Probably two years after the
Innovation Report, we launched The Daily — that's our podcast — and it becomes
the most important part of the newspaper. And the thing that every reporter
secretly wants is to have their story selected for this day as The Daily. And
that culture change, I think, unlocked a lot of creativity once we started to
recognize that we could do work that was just as important, just as serious and
just as good, in totally different formats, and reaching totally different
people. Next year will see a presidential election in the
United States and a general election in Korea. Responsible media outlets play
an important role in relaying information during election years, and how does
The Times plan on combating disinformation and growing public distrust in
journalism? Distrust in journalism, distrust of journalists, is a
really significant challenge and one that is important for our institutions,
for news organizations. It's also important for society because a free society
needs a free and reliable source of information. And that's the role that
journalists play, independent journalists in particular. We are the ones who
surface the hidden information and ask the tough questions so that the public
can know the full truth. And democracy depends on someone playing that role. I think the public doesn't understand a lot of what
journalism is and what motivates us. I think that the [social media] platforms
need to do more to differentiate in quality journalism, and I would say much
more to differentiate quality journalism from just another person spouting off
their ideas. Right now, there's something about the construction of social
media that it all looks the same. So it's harder to understand that one person
actually may have done a lot of work, you know, to develop an informed view and
bring expertise to it. And then I think politicians actually have an important
role here, too. Politicians in many parts of the world have been using rhetoric
like "fake news" and "enemy of the people" to demonize
journalism, and often, for short-term advantage for themselves. I think of that
as being anti-patriotic. A democratic leader should know that a free press has
an important role to play. What did it mean for the company to choose Seoul as
Asia's New York Times digital hub? Our Asia operations had long been based in Hong Kong.
The increasing crackdowns that accelerated in 2020 on free speech and the free
press made it clear to us that we would have to relocate the bulk of our
operations. We still have reporters in Hong Kong, and we're covering Hong Kong
because it's an important city and obviously a global hub. But we needed to
move our reporting and editing operations, dozens and dozens of journalists, to
a country more receptive to the free press. The sad truth is that the region doesn't have many
options. And of those options, Korea stood out for having some strong
protections. It's not to say Korea is perfect. I think there have been some
real challenges around what I think many regard as an overly broad defamation
law, but even with that, Korea stood out as being more hospitable to the press,
with a vibrant media culture. We do want to be good members of the community. And
we've got media partners here in Korea. I'm very proud to be here at the
university, and now showing our investment in the community. What is your bigger vision for The Times? Our goal at The New York Times is to seek the truth and
help people understand the world. That's our mission statement. This is an era of misinformation. We need an independent
news organization seeking the truth. This is an era of polarization. We need
independent news organizations helping people understand each other. Our industry is very vulnerable. The future of the free
press is not assured, and I am proud of and really committed to The New York
Times being a place that is trying to find a path forward for quality
journalism, for independent reporting, because I think that if we can find that
path and share what we find, that it will help news organizations in my country,
in Korea and all over the world. Source: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-10-19/national/socialAffairs/New-York-Times-chairman-says-democracy-depends-on-good-journalism/1894222
2023.10.23
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