What do you believe are the core traits of independent journalism?

What do media
organisations need to do to protect their reputations?

As rates of misinformation and news avoidance rise, I think it’s more important than ever
that people have access to independent journalism. Media organisations are also more
vulnerable than ever to having their reputations damaged because audiences have access to
so much information about how the media operates. Media organisations with the greatest
value are those which stick to the core principles of independent journalism, employ staff
who put these into practice and are transparent with their audience.

Seen in The Age’s Charter of Editorial Independence, it’s important to be free from any
commercial and political interests held by the owner, and report without favour. A
commitment to letting editorial staff control the news coverage based on merit is important
for this. State Political Reporter for The Age Broede Carmody says that means staff
themselves need the right temperament. “It’s also about reporters and editors being
curious, empathetic and brave enough to challenge their own preconceived ideas and
experiences,” he says.

It's important that independent journalism contains balance and a range of opinions. As well
as including more context surrounding a story, it means readers aren't given narrow or
incomplete information. For journalists it means contacting people on all sides. This doesn't
extend to publishing opinions that are generally agreed to be false. For instance, a climate
change story doesn’t need quotes from a climate denier - because there is such strong
evidence proving its existence. Former Sydney Morning Herald journalist Neil McMahon
says balance means not letting anyone off the hook. “Piss off all sides of the spectrum, anger
everyone,” he says.

For commercial media, the opinion section is an important way to share ideas. Often, the
best and strongest opinion pieces are partisan - and they shouldn’t be diluted. However,
including a diversity of opinions can balance an inherently partisan section. When an
editorial is made, unlike an opinion piece from a columnist, it implicates the organisation
itself, and therefore requires a high level of nuance. Readers can be quick to anger if they
feel there’s an agenda. I remember an Age editorial late in the pandemic which questioned
the morality of the lockdowns, and how passionately some readers criticised this.

To protect their reputations, the media need to be transparent with their readers. This
includes disclosing funding, like trips to Israel. I think media organisations shouldn’t pay for
interviews, such as Seven has done to get Bruce Lehrmann in Spotlight. The audience has
access to so much information and are too clever to try and be deceived. “People know so
much about how the sausage is made,” says McMahon. “Often, it's an ugly sausage.”

When media organisations make mistakes, it's important to apologise and commit to
improving. When Nine was reported to be making political donations and gave twice as
much to the Liberal Party ($62,906) as Labor ($27,500), I think it damaged Nine's and
therefore The Age's reputation. However, this was minimised by The Age addressing this
and Nine since phasing out all political donations.