change across the company, including here at cnn. and i m sad that i won t be here to cover it. but since this is our final episode, we re going to do something today. this is a special hour and it s about change. it s about change all across the media world. what s changing? what might change? and what must never change about the accountability function of journalism. i love this show. this small but mighty show punched above its weight for so many years. even a former president commented on the cancellation. reliable sources has been a one of a kind show, and a popular show. this is one of cnn s highest rated weekend shows. so i want to say thank you to all of you watching around the world. i was lucky to be a part of it for nine years. but it began 30 years ago after the gulf war. so here s what the iconic former cnn ceo tom johnson said on facebook when he heard the show was canceled. he said it was founded by ted turner and leaders of cnn who felt deeply that media org
Financial support that journalists need, but also that they have the backing of those in authority. when those in power have done great journalism, journalists become fair game. and what you see that is morph into online harassment. we have seen a huge increase in that in the past 30 years. and that quite oftenly morphs into real world violence. that online harassment is describing an environment of toxicity around journalism that is much more poisonous than it was. it s gotten so much more toxic. and doesn t that scare off some writers and turn off some reporters? don t we news a generation of great journalists because they don t want to be harassed, they don t want to be part of the mess? how do we ensure we re still getting the next best class of journalists to join in this
Lens on the media. this week, we have been given the gift of signing off on our own terms and talking about the media industry. so let s not waste any more time. let s bring in journalist carl bernstein, co-author of many books, most recently the author of chasing history. carl, thanks for being with me on this final program. good to be with you, always. i want to know, we have talked so many times over the years about the role of the press. but it s changed a lot in the 30 years this program has been on the air. in the 50 years for example since watergate. what do you think is most important about what has changed and what do we need to make sure doesn t change about american journalism? i think the essential bottom line of reporting is to reach the people, the readers, and the viewers with what bob woodward and myself for 50 years have called the best attainable
Version of the truth, which means even in some of the commentary or a lot of the commentary, that it ought to be repertoirially based. i try to do that. but in this book chasing history, the most important line in the book, it s about what i learned as a 16, 17, 18-year-old going to work in journalism, is a line that i was taught about great reporters covering civil rights. that is, the truth is not neutral. the truth is not neutral. that doesn t mean that we have to be fair in all we cover. we have to give acknowledgement to two sides. we have to be judicious but not judicial. i know there s been a lot of angst for instance calling donald trump not only on this network but all over a criminal. you know, we called nixon a criminal president in reporting on watergate. in fact, he never was convicted of a crime. but he was a criminal president.