Bernard Goldberg, author of Bias, criticized the “fabric of journalism” in a phone interview with the Foundations of Journalism class on Tuesday morning. Calling journalists out for their alleged arrogance and lack of accountability, Goldberg warned the 300-person class to think twice before joining a group with such a bad reputation.

“The election showed the media in a worse light than ever before,” said Goldberg before returning to drilling in his main point: “its not the media’s role to affect change in society… even when it’s a noble cause.” His reasoning was that journalists shouldn’t push for change because people have different definitions of change. Perhaps the problem is that the “different definitions of change” are not evenly represented. If the liberals are overtaking the media, where have the conservatives gone?
Sophomore Ben Levine asked Goldberg why there are so many liberals in media. “I have never suggested that there is a sign outside the news room door that conservatives need not apply,” said Goldberg. “I think certain professions attract certain kinds of people.”

If the conservatives are so concerned about liberal bias in the news media, then they need to join the media and contribute their perspective rather than just wondering why the media is so liberal.

Goldberg himself seemed to convey a well-expressed conservative perspective. He presented his arguments as a criticism of bias, not a flogging of the liberals. But about halfway into the interview, a pointed question pushed the wrong button. A student mentioned that Goldberg had signed a contract with CBS not to write opinion pieces, and that his initial Op Ed piece (that he later expanded into his book) about liberal bias in the media breached that contract.

Goldberg’s voice immediately adopted an unmistakable sign of irritation, and his response was inarticulate and angry. “There’s nothing like race in America,” he said. “You wouldn’t dream of asking a black person, ‘did you know when you were drinking out of the white water fountain that you were breaking the rules?’” Was he likening himself, a conservative, to a black man marginalized by the Jim Crow laws? He later gave the class a more coherent reply, saying that contracts had been breached in the past without punishment, but his initial outburst kept the class talking.

Sophomore Palika Makam called his fumble the highlight of the lecture.