The world as it is, and as we wish it to be

When I was a newspaper farm editor, the key ethical issue posed by my profession was whether farm editors should accept seed corn caps from our advertisers. We would have 'knock down” arguments among ourselves when we got together in our professional meetings. I remember a doozy between Arlo Jacobson of the Des Moines Register and Richard Orr of the Chicago Tribune. It was so much fun. All over seed corn caps.

The key professional ethical argument for journalists today is over whether we should report seriously individuals who have an alternate vision of the universe. Should we report those who are delusional? Should we correct misstatements in the story?

Back in my heyday, my high school and college instructors would correct me on the spot when we made misstatements. Our beloved geometry teacher, Zikpha Beaver, would get in a tizzy about proofs and logic, so much that she'd conclude her analysis with a simple phrase, 'on that.” We once caught her saying 27 'on that's” in a single frustrating class period. In The Gazette newsrom, similarly we had to be on our toes, as Phyllis Fleming was our school marm who quickly corrected us when we were wrong. Sadly, both Zilpha and Phyllis are gone.

Today, we have alternate versions of the universe. An astronomer, Neil Tyson, was on the Stephen Colbert show last week, saying we should have caps saying that we wanted to 'Make America Smart Again” instead of 'Make America Great Again.” Seed corn cap disputes again. Should journalists report the established facts or should we repor the 'deniers”? Is the issue fairness or accuracy? The 'denial” often makes as much news as the initial scientific or technological discovery. Hey, we have an idea to tell you about, they tell readers, but we have to give equal time ti discuss why it won't work.

There was a great divide between high school- and college-educated voters in the last election and the uneducated won, hands down. On one hand, it's good to make visible the bad thinking processes that some people are using. On the other hand, delusion is not a good starting point as a basis for public policy.

We're seeing hogwash, both from real victims and politicians who wanted to delude the public. Journalists need to bring bad thinking to light, but they also need to preserve the facts that are based in reality.

Journalists can't report a world as they wish it to be. They need to report the world as it is.

' Al Swegle of Cedar Rapids was Gazette farm editor from 1968 to 1987.