NBC anchor Lester Holt said “fairness is overrated” when accepting the Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism.
“I think it’s become clear that fairness is overrated. … The idea that we should always give two sides equal weight and merit does not reflect the world we find ourselves in,” Holt said Tuesday evening.
“That the sun sets in the west is a fact. Any contrary view does not deserve our time or attention,” Holt continued. “Decisions to not give unsupported arguments equal time are not a dereliction of journalistic responsibility or some kind of agenda. In fact, it’s just the opposite.”
Holt also railed against “providing an open platform for misinformation,” saying that allowing “anyone to come say whatever they want, especially when issues of public health and safety are at stake, can be quite dangerous.”
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His comments were highlighted in CNN’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter as a “sharp critique of bothsidesism,” while New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen said on Twitter that they were cause to celebrate.
“When the chief anchor of one of the major networks agrees that bothsidesing everything is bad practice, critics have finally won a point and they should celebrate,” Rosen tweeted.
When the chief anchor of one of the major networks agrees that bothsidesing everything is bad practice, critics have finally won a point and they should celebrate. This is from @brianstelter‘s newsletter. pic.twitter.com/Z79lvPuJsV
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) March 31, 2021
Others on social media also praised the comments.
thank you @LesterHoltNBC https://t.co/JVg29C9UQc
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) March 31, 2021
Right 🙌🏾 the false equivalency argument to “present another side” when the other side is false/ based in b.s. ….Always going to be a waste of breath. https://t.co/YHBmzxl9fU
— Lindsey Granger (@IamLindseyG) April 1, 2021
Let’s hope this starts to change how the press covers issues with fact and science at their core.
Many issues do not have two sides (they may really have one, or ten). https://t.co/BRhfgV9mFL
— (((Andrew Winston))) (@AndrewWinston) March 31, 2021
However, Media Research Center Executive Editor Tim Graham mocked the comments.
“Lester Holt: We can’t alllow an ‘open platform for misinformation,’” Graham tweeted.
“Also Lester: Provides open platform for Hillary, says he ‘winced’ when someone called her dishonest. Asked her ‘do you get your feelings hurt sometimes?’”
Lester Holt: We can’t alllow an “open platform for misinformation.”
Also Lester: Provides open platform for Hillary, says he “winced” when someone called her dishonest. Asked her “do you get your feelings hurt sometimes?” https://t.co/A8Px4vMBaM
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) March 31, 2021
Now I imagine the swell of the John Williams theme music for NBC News with the slogan
“FAIRNESS IS OVERRATED. NBC NEWS.” https://t.co/dWlKHBTBNi
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) March 31, 2021
The comments come after a poll found that the public’s trust in the media hit an all-time low this year.
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Just 46% of people trust traditional news media, and trust in social media has plummeted to 27%, according to a barometer published by Axios in January.
In addition, 56% of the poll respondents said they agreed with the statement, “Journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations.”
