By Hailey Bosek
Media distrust is at an all-time high. A new Gallup poll reveals that Americans’ trust in the media is nearing a record-breaking low. Only 7% of Americans report having “a great deal” of trust and confidence in the media, while 27% report having “a fair amount.” Journalists face a long and treacherous road to regain that trust, and the arguments on how to do so are abundant.
Retired NBC producer Susan LaSalla believes it all comes back to one thing: getting the facts right.
The Raleigh, North Carolina native knew from a young age that she wanted to see the world. After nine years answering phones and doing other newsroom jobs, LaSalla achieved her goal. She became the third woman at the network to become a producer. Her career is best explained by where she hasn’t been. Her career took her to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the Middle East during the Gulf War, Russia, and Cuba. She also worked for NBC in Chicago and Miami, among other places. In 2009, she retired after a 43-year career at NBC. Her last 16 years were spent as the senior producer in Washington for The Today Show, earning her two Emmys.
LaSalla, like many, is disappointed in the state of journalism. The age of the internet and political discord have shifted the values that LaSalla feels journalists once heralded.
“I think it’s sort of come to the forefront with all the Trump stuff because of his outrageousness. You get back to FOX News, where FOX will 100% support anything Donald Trump says. But MSNBC will say he’s insane. He’s a liar. He’s a misogynist. And so that’s their blatant point of view,” said LaSalla. “I think most of this is because of social media. Journalism changed with the Internet because there were too many opinions out there.”
Despite the excess of opinions, LaSalla stands strong in her journalistic principles: Get your facts right and leave your opinion out of it.
“You have to have your facts. It’s all about facts,” said LaSalla. “A story you want and the story you come away with can be two different things.”
This is what LaSalla carried with her throughout her entire career. She navigated the political opinions of Washington with grace. Her parents came from different political parties, which might have armed LaSalla with the objectivity she feels is needed in journalism. Her track record of getting it right every time is credited to one process that she stressed always goes back to.
“Fact check, fact check, fact check,” said LaSalla.
LaSalla is concerned that journalism now cares more about sharing opinions than sharing the facts. The Pew Research Center found that Americans have trouble identifying the difference between factual and opinion statements in the news. LaSalla feels that journalists have no place in the world of opinions and that the principles of journalism are straightforward.
“It just seems so simplistic to me that you, of course, have a point of view. But as a journalist, nobody cares about your point of view; you’re there to do a job and to get answers,” said LaSalla. “Why do I have to have my beliefs as a journalist? Why does it matter what my beliefs are?”
LaSalla traveled the world and brought breaking news to the people who needed it most. She paved the way for women to have a place in journalism and did so with strict adherence to her ethics.
“We had the best of it because we loved what we did. We were terrified of getting it wrong, and we built careers on that,” said LaSalla.
LaSalla is settled down back home in her home state of North Carolina. She is happily retired and says she doesn’t envy emerging journalists in this climate.
“But you’re in an uphill battle with the rest of the world thinking of what you do for your profession sucks. There’s no trust in journalism,” said LaSalla. “You’ve got to prove them wrong.”
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