• Knight Fellowships

2006 Knight Lecture: Clark Hoyt

News in the Age of Bush, Blogs and Bombs

Clark Hoyt, Washington editor,

• Lecture Audio (Stanford iTunes)
• Symposium Audio (Stanford iTunes)
• Lecture Prepared Text

2006 Symposium Panel

Luis Fraga, associate professor of political science, Stanford University

Joan Walsh, editor in chief, Salon.com

Hoyt delivers Knight talk

Stanford Daily, May 16, 2006
By James Hohmann

Clark Hoyt, the Washington, D.C. Bureau chief for the Knight Ridder newspaper chain, painted a dim picture of the state of American journalism during his talk last night, asserting that the mainstream media must be vigilant to remain relevant in the increasingly competitive industry of information.

"Twenty-first century American journalism is at a crisis," said Hoyt, the keynote speaker for the annual John S. Knight lecture, held at Kresge Auditorium. "We've got to be that defined voice of reason that people can use."

The growth of the Internet has forced a decline in circulation and advertising revenue for newspapers. The business model that guaranteed independence in the past is "running out of steam," said Hoyt, a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Also, today fewer Americans trust the mainstream media to objectively present the facts. Hoyt faulted the Bush administration for curtailing access and punishing journalists who dare question spoon-fed conservative talking points.

"Washington is at war with itself," he said. "The mainstream media is caught in the crossfire."

"Not since Vietnam and Watergate have relations between the government and the press been as strained as they are now," he added. "Powerful forces are very much against our getting the truth and printing it."

Hoyt praised his bureau for its skepticism of the administration's claims about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction even as other elite news outlets accepted what White House officials told them.

"People at the top of the administration were of one mind," he said. "We had to dig elsewhere to find information."

Knight Fellowships Director and Communication Prof. James Bettinger highlighted the newspaper bureau's accuracy in his introduction.

"Under Clark's leadership, the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau has achieved an amazing record of skepticism of the administration’s claims about going to war in Iraq," he noted.

Hoyt speculated that other journalists were so focused on getting the story that they might not have done all the necessary legwork to check out the facts they were being given.

"I think some people were worried about losing access and their ability to get the inside scoop," he said.

Hoyt said that Knight Ridder reporters have at times suffered for their assertiveness and independence in questioning the administration's claims. He said that his reporters have been excluded "to some extent" from traveling with Cabinet-level officials for publishing stories reflecting poorly on the administration.

During the subsequent question-and-answer session, Hoyt explained how newspaper editors must decide whether or not to include potentially dangerous information in stories.

"Early in the war before the invasion of Iraq, we knew that there were U.S. military people already operating inside Iraq," he said. "And we decided not to report it because we knew that was something that could have literally cost people's lives."

Hoyt defended the use of anonymous sources as a necessary evil, adding that the news business has worked hard to minimize their use. But when it comes to national security, he argued, there are valid situations in which people could lose their jobs or go to jail if they go on record.

"They are both toxic and necessary," he said.

When asked about the impact of Internet Web logs, or blogs, Hoyt said they have the potential to bring important stories to the forefront of public discourse. But blogs also lack the credibility and standards of mainstream publications, he said.

"Obviously we do monitor and read blogs," Hoyt said. "The blogosphere also makes big mistakes and sends you off on a lot of trails that lead nowhere."

Hoyt praised his mentor, Knight, for his journalistic example and media industry stewardship. He said that delivering the lecture was a "bittersweet moment."

"The newspapers which carry his name will soon cease to exist," he said, referring to the planned merger between San Jose-based Knight Ridder and Sacramento-based publisher McClatchy.

Knight, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1968 for editorial writing during early opposition to the conflagration in Vietnam, helped build a newspaper empire and crusade for racial justice and equality. Once, Hoyt said, the patriarch of his parent company put himself at great risk by publishing a front-cover listing of all prominent local members of the Klu Klux Klan.

A symposium following up on last night's lecture will be in held at noon today at the Bechtel Conference Center in Encina Hall. Salon.com Editor in Chief Joan Walsh and Political Science Prof. Luis Fraga will join Hoyt on a panel to discuss "News in An Age of Bush, Blogs and Bombs."