The University of Idaho Argonaut

Call us hypocrites, but most journalists don’t vote. There’s this thing called “journalistic objectivity” that the best pure journalists adhere to with such vehemence they often forget they are human.
It isn’t hard to see how this can happen. If we do our jobs right, we immerse ourselves in all sides of a stories, even if one side is obviously wrong.
Indeed, it is when someone is wrong that more coverage is given. We try to be objective even in the face of the obvious.

It was journalists who said, “Hey, wait a minute, just because he’s the president doesn’t mean he’s not a criminal.” Pick your president. It could be Nixon, Clinton or either of the Bushes.
It was a journalist who spotlighted how wrong the activities of the House Un-American Committee were.
Right now, you should be asking yourself two questions. One: how is this objective? Two: if one side is so wrong, does objectivity really matter?
The first answer is easy. The good journalist worked like crazy to find out which side was wrong before acting on it. Just doing the job. Objectivity was strictly adhered to until the moment of absolute surety.

The second question is not so easy. The importance of such strict objectivity is necessary to find the truth. Objectivity leads to credibility. If a journalist has done the job, it makes it that much easier to put one’s trust in that person.
If a journalist makes one mistake, it’s like taking two steps back.
That is why most journalists don’t vote.
All the research in the world, time spent going over policies and personalities, doesn’t mean we won’t be wrong.
Ask yourself a third question. Do you trust anyone who told you to vote for George W. Bush? Do you trust anyone who told you to vote for the high school class president who got drunk on prom night and crashed into a telephone pole?
Here’s the truth. The most important section of this or any newspaper is not what you are reading now — despite my enlarged ego — or the scores for your favorite team.
The front page isn’t even the most important.

The most important section is the “correction” box. Usually buried on page two or three and, even better, never seen at all, the corrections box is the place to look to see that we are still human.
We make mistakes. We don’t like to advertise it — no one does. We strive to get it right every time. If we do make a mistake, count on hearing about it from us first.
And if any journalist tells you who to vote for, look up the journalist’s history, not the candidate’s.