Facts from fiction

Richard A. Sokerka

Over the last few decades, the news media has gone through numerous changes in the way it presents the news. None of us knows how the news media will evolve in future years in disseminating the news, but according to Pope Francis, it will have no future if reporters and the public cannot distinguish between facts and fiction.

The Pope made these comments about the future of the media during his flight Sept. 10 from Madagascar to Rome.

The Pope said the responsibility of the news media is “to inform the audience of an event and to distinguish these facts from narrative, fiction or opinion. It is extremely easy to move from the facts to narrative,” he said, “and this damages the news industry. It’s important to stick to the facts.”

Our Holy Father’s remarks are very pertinent in our day and age of instantaneous news when members of the news media are trying to be the first to present “the news.” Often, in the rush to publish, facts are ignored, dismissed or not fully reported and more often than not, opinion is substituted for the facts that they have neglected to find out. “The mission of the journalist is to always stick to the facts: ‘The facts are these. My interpretation is this. I was told this.’ It distinguishes you from the storyteller,” the Pope said.

The Pope added that if the news report includes an account of something an individual or group believes is true, but the reporter has not witnessed, the reporter must inform readers or listeners. “This is what being objective is all about, and this is one of the values that the news industry needs to retain.”

The Pope’s observations on the news media ring true today, especially in our own nation. News media outlets are often tagged as liberal, progressive or conservative for how they disseminate the news, by what they choose to cover or not cover and for presenting the news as their own opinion, not objectively.

It is up to all of us in this day and age to be able to distinguish “facts from fiction” in news reports. As the Pope reminds us, our news providers need to present the facts, and just the facts, for that is the true role of any journalist.