Journalism without a moral position is impossible. Every journalist is a moralist. It's absolutely unavoidable.
Interpretation
Journalism inherently involves ethical judgments, as every journalist carries their own moral perspective.
This quote by Marguerite Duras emphasizes that journalism is not just about reporting facts; it is deeply intertwined with the journalist's personal moral beliefs. Duras argues that it is impossible for a journalist to be neutral or devoid of morality when presenting the news, as their moral stance inevitably influences how they choose to report events and issues.
In practice
In a speech about ethical journalism, one might quote Duras to emphasize the importance of morality in news reporting.
Alcohol doesn't console, it doesn't fill up anyone's psychological gaps, all it replaces is the lack of God. It doesn't comfort man. On the contrary, it encourages him in his folly, it transports him to the supreme regions where he is master of his own destiny.
What she said was always strange. It had happened long ago. It seemed insignificant. And yet it was something you remembered forever. The words as well as the story. The voice as much as the words.
I'm still there, watching those possessed children, as far away from the mystery now as I was then. I've never written, though I thought I wrote, never loved, though I thought I loved, never done anything but wait outside the closed door.
Perhaps someone will have seen mine, the one Iβm waiting for, just as I saw him, in a ditch when his hands were making their last appeal and his eyes no longer could see. Someone who will never know what that man was to me; someone whose name Iβll never know.
Stormy skies, says Ernesto. He grieved for them. Summer rain. Childhood.
A prolonged silence ensues. The reason for the silence is our growing interest one for the other. No one is aware of it, no one yet; no one? am I quite sure?
I take a certain pride in having maintained a reputation for fast copy throughout my newspaper career. Fast-breaking stories left my typewriter in a hurry. Not great literature, perhaps, but fast, and usually accurate.
Purchasing a story in order to bury it is a practice that many in the tabloid industry call 'catch and kill.'
Journalism, some huge percentage of it, should be devoted to putting pressure on power, on nonsense, on chicanery of all kinds and if that's going to invite a lawsuit, well, bring it on.
My inclination, as an old-school, classically trained journalist, is not to go with a story unless I have it hard. It's not good enough to say something based on rumors that were flying around.
I have been asking if I'm an activist or a journalist. And my answer is very simple. I'm just a journalist who asks questions.
I don't believe newspaper reporters can substitute for a district attorney, but a newspaper has a very valid investigative role. Newspaper reports on corruption in government, racketeering and organized crime conditions can be very helpful to your communities and the whole country.
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