NPR Editor Gives Keynote on Fighting Bias
NPR’s Keith Woods talks to the community about ways to reduce bias in journalism writing.
Keith Woods, vice president of diversity news and operations at National Public Radio (NPR), visited Lexington to give a keynote address for Washington and Lee’s 62nd Ethics Institute in Journalism. His keynote was titled “Combating the Brutality of Bias with Great Journalism” and was free and open to W&L students, faculty, and community members. Journalists from The New York Times, The LA Times, and The Seattle Times were also present during the keynote.
Woods is a member of the Executive Leadership Team at NPR that focuses on helping NPR strengthen diversity in content, staff, audience, and the work environment. Woods previously taught journalistic writing on race relations, ethics, and diversity at the Poynter Institute, a non-profit school for journalism in St. Petersburg, Fl.
Woods discussed how biased journalism could lead to the destruction of democracy and what role journalists have in society. He stressed that journalism is a vital component of our world, and that when it is full of biases, our democracy itself is at risk. Woods also talked about ways to avoid bias in writing in order to help keep journalism credible.
“Our work is to reach for excellence, deliver greatness, and speak up boldly when anyone conflates uninformed opinion with human perception and true bias, and then hurls that destructive mixture like a stone at the fragile face of our profession,” said Woods.
Some RCHS students attended the talk in order to learn more about journalism in general and to hear his view on fighting bias in the media.
“I found it a very refreshing take on the media,” said junior Quinn Hoover. “As someone who is a member of a news organization, he was very honest and forthcoming, which is not something I was used to hearing.”
Some students also left his keynote feeling more aware of the importance of using multiple news sources and not just relying on one.
“Hearing what he said definitely reminded me not to just rely on one news source which I may think is the best or most credible,” said junior Peyton Ritter. “His talk really opened up my eyes to how complex the industry really is.”
