First of all, please do not expect me to apologize, rationalize, or in any way defend myself. Rather, consider this a simple explanation of how I came to in fact, as Mr. Dedman’s piece accurately indicates, donate a total of $600 to the Democratic National Committee in the years 2003 and 2004.
Bill, you caught me. I did it. Of course it wasn’t all that hard to find out about it. Like all the other donations you uncovered, they happen to be a matter of public record, required by the Federal Election Commission. It was also posted on at least 2 web sites as far back as 2004, which kind of dilutes the sensationalistic tone of the piece.
That said, it is nonetheless a fascinating profile of 143 of us who entered what certainly is a gray area in journalistic ethics, which to some radicals on the right seems to be a contradiction, the pairing of words that are to them mutually exclusive. I am genuinely amused by some of the comments from those interviewed who answered as if they got caught with their hands in respective cookie jars, and particularly by many of the responses from a public in alternate states of shock, cynicism and may I say, at the risk of angering any or all of them, naïve?
So, herewith, may I offer my explanation.
To begin, with one exception, I have not and do not donate money to individual candidates. I don’t even put campaign signs on my lawn because for me, it definitely does cross an ethical line.
I have given money to the DNC off and on through the years, mostly off, ever since, as Mr. Dedman catalogues, I ran for US Congress in 1986. Donating to a group with which I have been closely, openly and publicly affiliated does not in my mind present a conflict, perceived or in fact. My respective employers felt the same way. At the same time however, I would enthusiastically support a universally accepted policy, if there were one, that would forbid any donation to any political group or person by any working journalist, particularly political reporters.
CBS News gave me a leave of absence for one year to run my campaign with “donations“ from myself. I neither sought nor accepted any donations from any of my colleagues in the news business. I was put on official leave the day a story ran in the papers, speculating my intentions, weeks before I announced. Running for a public office while still a newsperson is too obvious a conflict of interest to even debate, although, amazing to me, some have tried or done so. I won the Democratic Primary and lost the general election to the incumbent, Jim Saxton, who still occupies that seat, and who is if I may add, a perfect example of why this country needs term limits.
On losing the election, I went back to work at WCBS Radio with the understanding that political stories I read on the air as an anchor were to be written by my assigned writer. Everyone knew I was a registered Democrat. I am still an unapologetic liberal, unfortunately a rare breed in the contemporary Democratic Party. In fact, with the Democrats breaking their backs leaning so far to the right these days, my donation to the DNC in 2004 was my last. I am as frustrated with the Democrats as I am angry with the Republicans, but that’s grist for another day.
During 2003, my assignment was commentary, clearly and unambiguously identified opinion from a liberal bias. So my giving money to a political party should shock no one, unless of course I gave it to the Republicans.
Parenthetically, I am something of a political black sheep in my family. I grew up in a GOP household. My step-grandfather, Bill Butler, was a New York State Republican Assemblyman, an honest, honorable man who knew the value of compromise and who wrote the book on working for his constituency. He would be appalled by today’s brand of divisive and polemical politics.
I did inform the company of my donations, although not required to, as I similarly informed my immediate superior of my ownership of a pre-school, which constituted a potential conflict of interest concerning any story about day care or pre-schools. Such stories were delegated to others. And throughout my career, except for awards, plaques or honoraria, I have never accepted “free” dinners, hotel rooms, trips or the like and have on numerous occasions sent back certain gifts. I am not unique. Many of my colleagues through the years acted similarly.
It was not all that difficult to divorce my political bias from my news judgment, yet to be totally honest, it was an ever-present temptation. For me, the temptation was not inserting something in my news stories that overtly or by subtext proselytized for a certain political aim, which is precisely what most reactionaries actually believe and occasionally accused me of doing. No, the temptation, which I believe I successfully resisted, was the simple matter of not including a piece of information, regardless of relevancy, bias by way of omission. But that’s what editors are for.
I believe that during my career, I acted honorably in presenting the news without bias, intentional or accidental. The great and grand exception of course was when I was allowed to express my opinion in clearly declared commentary, where I felt neither compelled nor advised to resist my bias, but to in fact dutifully embrace and express it, which is the whole point to begin with, no matter what “side” one is on.
The questions raised by Bill Dedman’s report are valid and important. What, if anything, should we do about it? That’s what I will attempt to address in the next installment in this 3 part series.
John Wydra