Why I am proud to be a part of the Guardian | Margaret Sullivan

On election day last month, I spent some time interviewing poll workers in New York City.

When I introduced myself to one, I told her that I write a column for the Guardian and her immediate reply was “thank you”. I was a little taken aback: people don’t normally react that way to journalists. Trust in the news media is low, and Donald Trump’s unfair cries of “fake news” and his efforts to depict journalists as “enemies of the people” have taken their toll.

So too have the discouraging moves made this year by storied news organizations such as the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and CBS News, where commercial interests or pro-Trump politics are affecting the journalism. Too many powerful media people are trying to cozy up to the president, rather than support journalism that holds him accountable for his words and actions.

Given that atmosphere, the poll worker’s words of thanks for the Guardian were especially nice to hear. But, in a way, her sentiments are not all that surprising. The Guardian, I’ve noticed, enjoys a positive reputation with people who care deeply about engaging in their communities and helping to support democracy.

That’s for good reason.

Because I write about the news media, sometimes as a tough critic, it’s not unusual for people to ask me to recommend what I consider good news sources. I do have a list of recommendations, and the Guardian is always high on that list. When I mention it (always first disclosing that I’m a regular Guardian columnist), I give a few reasons.

First, the Guardian is fair and cares about accuracy, but it doesn’t tie itself in knots to treat a would-be authoritarian such as President Trump like a perfectly normal politician. I see a lot of that normalization elsewhere, but far less of it at the Guardian.

I also find the Guardian more obviously mission-driven than a lot of other news organizations. Journalists at the Guardian, including top editors and leadership, seem to understand that the press has an important role in sustaining democracy, and they approach that understanding with clarity and without apology. This means that there’s less of what I call “performative neutrality” – a kind of false balance in political coverage – than I see in other places. Treating unequal things as if they were equal doesn’t equate to fairness.

I’m impressed too by the lack of a paywall at the Guardian. Yes, readers often are asked to contribute and become supporters, but everyone has access to Guardian journalism. The Guardian’s business model is different from that of news outlets owned by billionaires or multinational companies. It’s run by the UK-based Scott Trust, which has a journalistic purpose, not by a massive corporate entity whose shareholders are demanding higher profits.

That’s important because, more and more, the “free” media out there are of far lower quality than the journalism offered by organizations whose business model is based on mandatory paid subscriptions. And, simply put, if you don’t pay, you don’t have access. The effect is to exclude too many lower-income people from vetted, accurate news. That’s certainly not good for democracy.

Finally, I like many of the Guardian’s voices, such as Moira Donegan writing on gender and society, or David Smith in Washington, smartly analyzing politics, or Jeremy Barr (my former Post colleague and a fair-minded, deeply sourced media reporter), who joined recently. There are many more.

Democracy demands mission-driven journalism that is fair and accurate – and accessible – so that informed citizens can play their role in our society. That’s why the Guardian is high up on my recommendation list – and it’s why, when I see fundraising missives at the end of Guardian stories, I’m not annoyed. I merely hope that they continue to be successful so that the Guardian can keep doing what it does so well. I’m proud to be a part of it.

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