The article that inspired my post today is one from the most recent issue of National Geographic, the one they call their “Race Issue.” This issue of National Geographic is all about race relations in the United States. One of the articles caught my attention for its direct address of National Geographic itself and for its being written by the current editor-in-chief of the magazine, Susan Goldberg, herself. Titled “For Decades, Our Coverage Was Racist. To Rise Above Our Past, We Must Acknowledge It,” the article focuses on incidences in which National Geographic journalists have depicted people of different races negatively throughout their extensive history. Goldberg wrote the following regarding her philosophy about National Geographic‘s duty:

“How we present race matters. I hear from readers that National Geographic provided their first look at the world. Our explorers, scientists, photographers, and writers have taken people to places they’d never even imagined; it’s a tradition that still drives our coverage and of which we’re rightly proud. And it means we have a duty, in every story, to present accurate and authentic depictions—a duty heightened when we cover fraught issues such as race.”

The questions that came to mind after reading Goldberg’s article are what follows: What is the media’s responsibility and how is this similar or different from what people expect from it?

The answer to this question is likely to vary from person to person. In my view, the media should focus first and foremost on accuracy of any portrayal. Lack of credibility would render the media next to useless because the news that it reports would not be trustworthy to its readers. Second, journalists should focus on presenting all aspects of issues that are relevant to their intended audience with as little bias as possible. What constitutes “issues that are relevant to their intended audience” will vary from news outlet to news outlet. Furthermore, it is impossible to report on something without any bias; even the selection of what topics to cover conveys some degree of bias in itself. That is why the media needs to be intentional with its diction and choice of topics to cover.

However, some will argue that media outlets have the responsibility of reporting not only without bias, but also with deliberate intention to disprove stereotypes. National Geographic had a professor specializing in the histories of photography and Africa analyze its archives. The professor said that old National Geographic issues reflected prevalent views of the time period and “did little to push its readers beyond the stereotypes ingrained in white American culture.”

Depending on what one believes the media’s responsibility to be, one’s perception of how well a media outlet is doing its job will vary. The thing is, with the rise of special interest news outlets, it is easier than ever for people to find niche news sources that feed their existing viewpoints without offering different perspectives. In my perspective, special interest news outlets that promote one political view or another are not legitimate journalistic operations because of their deliberate bias.