TRANSCRIPT:
From the beginning of this country, we fortunately had the First Amendment to the Constitution. The whole idea there was that we should have a free and vigorous press — and a press that will hold government to account, that will give people the facts, the truth.
And I think that Voice of America is an example of that. It’s a model for the rest of the country about the values that we hold in this country — that even a publicly funded news organization will have those values, will practice those values. And that it is an example, really, to the rest of the world, about what we believe here in the United States, and that we not only advocate for it, but we actually practice it every single day, and in every way possible.
You know, if Voice of America is just a mouthpiece for the government, it doesn’t deserve any credibility. It’s just a propaganda outlet. And what’s different about it? It’s nothing. Nothing. It doesn’t represent the press. It doesn’t represent the country’s values. It is not a model for the rest of the world. And it doesn’t have any impact, either. Because then, what Voice of America is doing is no different from what people are hearing directly from the government itself.
Instead, really, Voice of America ought to be an example of the values that we have in this country, where you have free speech, freedom of expression, freedom of the press. A sincere effort on everybody’s part to get at the facts, to get the truth, and to show that there is a lot of debate in this country about policy and that that is the best way to make progress.
Who’s going to believe state propaganda? It’s just a public relations effort for a government. And no one’s going to believe it. They’re going to be left with an impression that the government has something to hide.
It’s really important that we have a free and independent press. One that can tell people about the successes; one that can tell people about failures; one that can hold powerful individuals and institutions to account; one that demonstrates a true, genuine effort on the part of journalists to get at the facts and to get at the truth, that inspires credibility. And without that, a press that is a propaganda outlet — that’s merely stenographers or propagandists for government — won’t have any credibility. And it doesn’t deserve any credibility.
Published
Baron served as executive editor of The Washington Post from 2013–2021 and previously led The Boston Globe and Miami Herald newsrooms. Baron-led newsrooms won 18 Pulitzer Prizes.