There are news reporters, there are columnists, and there are a few who do both – like me.
It is a situation I blundered into by chance. I landed my first job as a reporter at the Deming Headlight after several years as a columnist for the same paper. They let me continue writing the column, which later migrated (with me) to the Las Cruces Sun-News; but my editors and I managed my dual role with care.
For good reason, it is rare for a reporter to cross the barrier between news writing and opinion writing. Although one may question whether any human being, including a journalist, can truly be “objective,” news consumers rightfully express a desire for news gathering that is accurate, offers relevant perspectives on the issue at hand and is independent of faction or personal bias.
The distinction between news and opinion, even when prominently labeled on a website or in clearly designated sections of a newspaper, is still not always clear to the public. A 2018 study showed that Twitter and Facebook muddy the distinction further – bad news, given the reliance of news outlets on these platforms to market their work and build audience. Confusion about a reporter’s ethics or bias feeds mistrust, and journalism is facing a long-term crisis of trust.
Besides brightly labeling my column as “opinion,” and an additional subhead online announcing it as a column, I have mostly veered away from writing columns about the people or topics I cover in the daily news.
There are rare exceptions to this, as when I interviewed the New Mexico State Auditor for a column about last names with accent marks (his name is Colón and please don’t call him Colon), or the state Human Services Secretary about his reading habits (since he regularly does news conferences via video, seated by a shelf full of books), but these interviews stayed clear of news events of the day.
My column shares anecdotes and explores my own thinking on broad topics such as how I benefit from white supremacy and male privilege, anecdotes about how my family and I have navigated the pandemic and public health orders, and matters of ethics, art and culture. Sometimes I just need a break from the seriousness of my news reporting, so I write something humorous for the opinion page – sometimes in rhyming verse, which is difficult for me as well as the page designer.
One can make guesses about some of my political preferences if they read my columns regularly, but there hasn’t been any indication that readers mix up my weird columns from my daily news reporting. I get hate mail for both, of course.
As a reporter I have been called an apologist for colonialism, a fascist sympathizer, liberal stooge, communist, and things I had to look up simply because I did not frame the story as a reader wished or ask the right questions. Sometimes, when asked, the complainants will tell me what they think I missed, and sometimes they have a valid point that sharpens my reporting.
As a columnist, none of my hate mail seems confused about the distinction between news and opinion. They just think my opinions are wrongheaded and my jokes lame.
What they have in common is accountability. Everything I file is read over by at least one editor, sometimes several people. Columns are subject to editorial scrutiny as well as news articles. On two occasions, I’ve received fact-checking phone calls from USA Today when they were planning to pick up columns I wrote and asked to see documentation for claims I made.
And the truth is, many people don’t know about those processes or the ethical commitments binding on me (which are formal, written down and can be the basis for decisions to fire me).
For this reason, I actually respond to most of the emailed comments I receive, with a commitment to talk straight to people who read – or claim to have read – something I wrote and take time to write to me. Some think my reporting is lame and my column stupid, some think I did a good job, and in all cases I let them know I am writing for them, take them seriously and work to deserve their trust.
