Renowned Editor Marty Baron Speaks to Next Generation of Journalists

Renowned journalist and author Marty Baron has overseen Pulitzer Prize-winning investigations, election coverage and countless other major stories during a distinguished career that spans four-plus decades.  

Safe to say, Baron knows a thing or two about writing and reporting. But his advice to Newhouse School students about their post-graduation job search is to focus on the things they don’t know. 

“I like [to hire] people who like what they don’t know more than what they do know,” he said. 

Baron spoke Sept. 19 to a packed Hergenhan Auditorium for the Deanne Gebell Gitner Storytelling Symposium, examining journalism’s past, present and future. Aileen Gallagher, professor of magazine, news and digital journalism and associate dean of academic affairs at Newhouse, moderated the discussion. 

The executive editor of The Washington Post from 2013-21, Baron spoke about his experiences at the newspaper and his recent book “Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post.” In October 2013, nine months after the start of Baron’s tenure, the Post was sold to then-Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Donald Trump was elected president three years later.  

Before the Post, Baron was editor of The Boston Globe. Under his leadership in 2002, the paper published groundbreaking reports uncovering rampant clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. The Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning work became the inspiration for the film “Spotlight,”  which won the 2016 Oscar for Best Picture. 

Baron’s resume also includes top or senior editing roles at the Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. 

Most of Baron’s talk at Newhouse focused on better and more accurate coverage of the upcoming presidential election. It starts with being direct with readership, he said. The industry, according to Baron, can’t just tell people what’s happening, but also needs to show them. By allowing the public to fact-check the work of journalists, a level of trust is established. 

As the conversation shifted to student questions, Baron discussed the future of journalism, including the impact of artificial intelligence on the industry. Baron said he sees the ways AI can be helpful in the newsroom.  

“I don’t think that reporters are going away,” Baron said. “[AI] just means that reporters need to do their job and do it well.” 

Baron said he sees opportunities for newsrooms to use generative AI for tasks such as data analysis and creating SEO-friendly headlines. But, he said, it’s important to be cautious.

“I think in the past, with a lot of good that’s happening in the digital world, [the journalism industry] has been slow, stubborn and clumsy,” Baron said. “And I think there’s some indication now that we won’t be slow or as stubborn [with AI].”

While Baron talked primarily about the struggles that the journalism industry has had, there was a hopeful tone throughout as he addressed the next generation of journalists. 

“Do I think that people are looking for independent journalism?” Baron said. “I do.” 

The key for young journalists, according to Baron, is to just keep on learning.

“Let’s really work at it and work at it in the right way,” Baron said in an interview earlier that day. “Do the right thing, but do it in the right way. And that is to be righteous, to be honest, to be honorable, to be professional, be determined, to tell people facts in a fearless and unflinching way when we know for sure that we’ve got them.”

And for Baron, that all starts with curiosity in the next generation of journalists.

“One great thing about journalism is you get to learn and they pay you for it,” Baron said. “I mean, right here, [you] pay to learn. But later, when you graduate, they’ll pay you to learn. And so it’s great and you get to be a lifelong learner … that’s the great joy of journalism.”