"Why should newspapers be able to tell the truth when no other institution can?" David L. DeJean, associate editor of the Louisville Times and a Nieman fellow, said yesterday in the third lecture of the Nieman series being held at the Freshman Union.
Speaking to a group of about 15, DeJean said anyone who asks for the "objective truth" is asking for the impossible because truth is a relative term.
There are three levels of truth in newspapers, the lowest being advertising, DeJean said. The second level is the front page and it is not much better because it is so easy to manipulate the news, he said.
A person can almost "buy space" on front pages by filing a law suit with the more outrageous charges getting the most coverage, he said.
DeJean said television news tends to cover the flashy stories. "If you have enough pickets and enough chanting, the cameras will be there," DeJean said.
The highest form of truth in newspapers is the "blatant opinion" of the editorial page because it does not pretend to be an absolute truth, just a version of the truth, he said.
In response to a student's question, DeJean said that the greatest indictment of journalists is that they have a "penchant for labeling things" and for trying to establish a formula for coverage in a very complicated world.
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