Columbia Journalism Review Sets
New Standards For Biased Reporting

The Columbia Journalism Review convened on April 6, 2021, a summit of journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Trace, The Guardian and others to detail "what we can do about reporting on [so-called] gun violence."

CJR boiled down six essential pledge elements that comprise the "CJR Gun Violence Coverage Commitment." CJR hopes to convince news people across the country to sign on and obey. As a career print and radio journalist and editorialist, I would never sign the Commitment. Why not? Because the CJR Commitment contradicts journalism's purpose to, "ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough." (SPJ Ethics Code)

Examine the CJR Commitment's first three pledges.

No. 1. We pledge to cover gun violence like the unfolding health crisis it is.

Gun violence in America is an epidemic, killing 100 people every day. Rather than cover it as a series of dramatic, but unrelated, news events, we will provide sustained, thorough coverage of the causes … and the solutions seriously being considered to contain it.

Consider a first principle of journalism, its purpose. Journalism is supposed to provide observed facts within a framework of objective reality. The "coloring" of facts to subtly shift opinion is not journalism—it is known amongst professional journalists as "framing bias." Such bias slants the news via a filter distorted by the view of the reporter or organization. Framing bias is unvarnished intellectual dishonesty. .....