Editorial of November 13, 2025

Journalistic Integrity Counts

It’s no wonder people don’t trust the media. Just this week, BBC Director General Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, BBC’s head of news, resigned following a memo leaked by ex-BBC adviser Michael Prescott. Among other allegations, Prescott claimed that BBC’s news show, Panorama, misrepresented President Donald Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech. BBC officials have since admitted that splicing parts of that speech together “did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.”

According to an article in “The Guardian” by Rachel Leingang, published on Monday, November 10, “In a broadcast of the news show Panorama before the 2024 election, Trump’s speech was edited to put together two sentences that were actually 54 minutes apart, making it appear as though he was telling people they would walk to the US Capitol and “fight like hell.” In her article, Leingang wrote, “A dossier from a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee flagged the edit, among other instances of purported bias in the outlet’s coverage, which was leaked to the Telegraph. As a public sector organization, the BBC is required to be impartial, though it often faces claims of bias, particularly from the right.”

Yes, the hits to the media—both national and now international—just keep coming. But we would argue that, despite some news outlets playing fast and loose with the facts to the benefit of their preferred side of the aisle, a few bad apples don’t spoil the whole orchard. The Fourth Estate, and its role as a watchdog on government and society—its responsibility, that is, to hold others accountable for the public’s benefit—remains important.

Two films in this weekend’s Glimmerglass Film Days lineup hammer home the importance of good investigative journalism. The documentary “Teenage Wasteland” recounts the story of how, 30 years ago, teacher Fred Isseks led his high-school English class to uncover the story of illegal dumping in Middletown, New York. The film features interviews with Isseks and some of the students now, as they tell how the experience affected their lives. The film will air at the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday, November 14 at 5:30 p.m., with Isseks in attendance. “Teenage Wasteland” will be shown for students at Cooperstown High School that day as well.

Then, on Sunday, November 16, another film further reinforcing the importance of journalism will close out the festival. According to Tudum by Netflix, “Cover-Up” is a documentary about “New York Times” Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Seymour Hersh and his fight to uncover institutional violence. It is being shown here in Cooperstown before its December 26 Netflix launch.

“Los Angeles Times” reporter Josh Rottenberg writes: “As one of America’s most relentless investigative reporters, [Hersh] exposed the 1968 massacre of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians—including children and babies—by U.S. troops at My Lai; revealed the Nixon administration’s secret bombing of Cambodia and illegal wiretaps during Watergate; uncovered the CIA’s domestic spying and mind-control programs; and brought to light the torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Presidents and generals have dreaded seeing his byline. Editors have braced for the fallout.”

Yes, some media outlets have been letting us down a bit these days. But these films reinforce the fact that good journalism can and does reap countless rewards, uncover gross injustices, and expose those who break the law. Is journalism dead? We don’t think so. We suspect the public scrutiny of reporting by the BBC—and, in the news earlier this year, the selective editing of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris to “make Harris look and sound better,” according to Trump’s team—will force news rooms to get back to basics. Accuracy, fairness, impartiality, accountability, humanity.

But there’s no getting around the fact that, as Hersh himself has said, “This is a time when journalism needs all the support it can get.” Thanks, Glimmerglass Film Days and Otsego 2000, for shining a light on what good journalism can accomplish.

EDITOR’S NOTE: AllOtsego and its newspapers, “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta,” are proudly locally owned. In the news business these days, that’s rare. We need your help to keep AllOtsego for all of Otsego, not hedge funds hundreds of miles away who don’t care about the intricacies of local government or the milestones of everyday people like you. Can you subscribe, or donate, to our newspaper business? While donations are not tax deductible, rest assured they will be put to good use. When local media declines, corruption rises. Powerful people realize no one is watching and act accordingly. Getting you the news takes seven days a week, driving across the county, filing costly record requests, tech, phone, and other bills, and so much more. From finding human interest stories like a boat rescue on Otsego Lake to deep dives into controversial development proposals, reporting the news takes being a part of our community, knowing the micro-histories and relationships that make this such a special place. On such small margins, we couldn’t do it without you, dear loyal reader. (With your help, soon you’ll be a watcher and listener, too!) Support all of Otsego by supporting AllOtsego today.
Darla M. Youngs, General Manager and Senior Editor
AllOtsego, “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta”
PO Box 890, Cooperstown, NY 13326