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  • 2021-04-01 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Lester Holt 'Urge Journalists to Ditch Objectivity'? (en)
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  • On March 30, 2021, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt made a remark that was later republished by far-right websites. A headline from the conservative National Review read: NBC's Lester Holt Urges Journalists to Ditch Objectivity: 'Fairness Is Overrated.' However, this was misleading. He did not urge journalists to ditch objectivity. Holt's usage of the three words fairness is overrated came with quite a lot of context. The moment in question came during the 45th Murrow Symposium. It was organized by the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. Holt was the keynote speaker and received the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication Lifetime Achievement Award. During his speech, Holt was talking about the rise of misinformation and the new ways it can thrive. He said that these new and potentially dangerous voices were made possible by smartphones and the internet, which had opened a whole new hyper-speed network of raw and often unfiltered information. He also declared that they should not receive equal footing when ensuring journalistic integrity. But his remarks about the dangers of misinformation on the internet were misconstrued in a misleading headline. The transcript below covers the moments in question, running in the video from 17:59-22:39: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1077&v=AWIbAKI9PSA&feature=youtu.be Following Holt's fairness is overrated remark, his second point concentrated on the need to be respected versus the need to be liked. He said: Remember this, fact-checking is not a vendetta or attack. We all have a stake in us getting it right. The third and final point Holt made concerned the dangers of confusing opinion cable news TV shows with mainstream newscasts: Two days after Holt's remarks in which he referenced opinion-oriented cable programming, Fox News published a story that mentioned Tucker Carlson, who hosts an opinion-oriented cable program. The headline read: Tucker Carlson on NBC anchor Lester Holt's 'grotesque' idea of media fairness. In sum, Holt did not urge journalists to ditch objectivity. (en)
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