WSJ to avoid using “lies” when writing about Trump

Gerard Baker

The Wall Street Journal will not use the word “lie” when referring to president-elect Donald Trump’s statements that are false because it implies moral intent, editor Gerald Baker said on “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Kate Sheppard of The Huffington Post writes, “Baker appeared on NBC’s ‘Meet The Press’ Sunday, where he described some of President-elect Donald Trump’s falsehoods as ‘questionable’ and ‘challengeable.’ But, he said, ‘I’d be careful about using the word ‘lie.’ ‘Lie’ implies much more than just saying something that’s false. It implies a deliberate intent to mislead.’

“He said reporters should state the facts, but leave classifying them to readers, citing the example of Trump’s claim that thousands of Muslims in New Jersey were celebrating on 9/11 (which is false).

“‘I think it’s then up to the reader to make up their own mind to say, ‘This is what Donald Trump says. This is what a reliable, trustworthy news organization reports. And you know what? I don’t think that’s true.’’

“The New York Times editorial board has used ‘lie’ to describe Trump’s rampant abuse of facts. And Washington Post conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin has taken the media to task for not using the word. Other outlets ― including MSNBC, New York Magazine and HuffPost ― will use the word when it’s merited.”

“But Baker said that in doing so, ‘you run the risk that you look like you are, you’re not being, objective.'”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.