yamiche: tonight, a conversation with newsroom decision-makers. the capital attack. >> guilty. >> not guilty. yamiche: a racial reckoning. you had better respect my choice. yamiche: an ongoing pandemic. >> first inflation, then gas prices, and shipping. yamiche: 2021 was a historic year that further divided th nation and tested those managing newsrooms across the country. coming up, leaders from some of the top news organizations discuss writing a first draft of history for a fractured nation,. --, next.

>> this is "washington week." corporate funding is provided by. consumer cellular. additional funding is brought by the yuen foundation. committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. sandra and carl delay-magnuson. rose hirschel and andy shreeves. robert and susan rosenbaum. the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> once again, from washington, moderator yamiche alcindor. yamiche: good evening and welcome to "washington week." we have a special new year's edition of the program. we will discuss the biggest stories of the year with top newsroom leaders. these are the folks who decide what you read, watch, and listen

to every day. here to talk about trust in the media and lessons learned, are elisabeth bumiller, new york times assistant managing editor and washington bureau chief. every challenge, political director at cnn. julie pace, senior vice president at the associated press. and terence samuel, managing editor for npr. want to start with the january 6 insurrection at the capital and the lies about the 2020 election that continue. you're only days away from the anniversary of the attack, and it was a watershed moment in american history and journalism. reporters covered the story in real time, some even in harm's way. since then journalists have chronicled the consequences, including the spreading of disinformation about our voting systems. here is former president trump after numeral -- numerous investigations found no significant evidence of election fraud. >> first of all, he didn't get

elected. i never conceded. [applause] never conceded. no reason to concede. yamiche: david, want to start with you. this attack was a tv story. people watched it live, play out, our capital under attack. what was the conversation inside cnn and what was the goal of coverage on that day, but also how has it involved when we think of all the things that have happened since then? david: it is amazing to think back to that day nearly a year ago, because you will recall that morning started with us still covering the results coming in of the georgia senate runoff elections. we had not yet projected both races. in the morning i believe we had only projected one. we were waiting for the rest of the votes to come in, figure out which party was going to control the united states senate.

then, of course, the electoral college count process was getting underway. the insurrection b saw this attack on the very citadel of our democracy. and it sort of book ended a day that was about how the day started, with vote counting and vote reporting, legitimately, then ends in the absolute worst case scenario of the lies about the 2020 election and what it can bring. we have dedicated, at cnn, and i know my colleagues across the media landscape, unbelievable resources to following this story. i don't think there is a bigger story of our time than our democracy being in peril. when we are thinking about not only our coverage in 2021, but looking ahead, it is not sort of like, oh, the midterm election year and we are going to start to cover the president's impact on down ballot races. that will get covered, but there

is going to be a separate eat unto itself in our political coverage, and that is going to be following what is happening in the states about restrictive voting rights laws, what is happening with the january 6 committee, and how we ensure that the democratic institutions continue to hold in this country. i don't know if there is a bigger story than that in the coming year. yamiche: elizabeth, david is talking about giving resources to this story. talk about what the new york times is doing to cover this story. especially when there are lawmakers calling january 6 a tourist visit. elisabeth: we are also covering what is happening in the country , the states. the national desk is busy with that. you're also covering tropism -- trumpism. we cut back on our coverage of trump in 2021, but we are going to have to beef up our coverage

because of this continuing hold on the republican party, his supporters, and the nation. it is tough coverage. we are not covering every utterance that he says. obviously we are covering the effects of his presidency and his fundraising. the investigations into him. we will be stepping out up in 2022. i agree with david, it is a huge story. i also think covid is a huge story, as we have seen. yamiche: we are definitely going to get to covid. julie, i want to get to you. he said january 6 is the biggest story of the year, possibly of our lifetimes in terms of the status of american democracy. talk about how it is informing how the ap is covering this. julie: what we have seen over the past several months is what happened on january 6, then there is all of the follow-up. this is in many ways one of the most important pieces of this,

jan the attacks on our democratic systems, is the spread of misinformation and seeing how fast that information spreads both through technological platforms, but also elected officials. one of our responsibilities over this past year and into 2022 is to make sure we are correcting the record. and that we are doing so in a sober way. we are doing so with the facts at the forefront. that we are doing and every time we tell a version of this story. that we make sure people are armed with accurate information. we have a real responsibility to not backslide on this, because we have seen that when you have powerful forces amplified by technology, misinformation can speed well past the facts. it is incumbent on us at the ap and all of these other newsrooms represented here, to make this our mission going forward. yamiche: terence, when i think about npr, it is so much about context. obviously you cover breaking news, but you do deep dive

investigative reporting. can you talk about how you are deciding what to cover, what to call a lie, what not to call a lie? especially going into 2022? terence: that was a big debate a couple of years ago, with former president trump. it is interesting to hear january 6 framed as this pivotal moment, and it set off a bunch of implications we are now dealing with. to look back on it almost seems like it was kind of a logical conclusion to a world we had been living in where misinformation had become this, kind of like, stalking horse to everything we did. you know, the president would say things, and we would debate whether it is a lie or not, and at the end of the day we had gotten so used to covering the institution of the presidency alongside, kind of, the

stortions of whoever manages to sit in it at the moment. and suddenly with president trump we could not figure out how to separate those distortions. people adjusted to the office, and suddenly the office was being contorted to the president, and -- i mean, the big lie being the obvious thing. at the end of the day, january 6 seemed like the obvious thing. yamiche: david, really quickly, how is cnn dealing with polling? it has been such a problematic part of our society. people suddenly not believing in polling, posters saying, maybe we got it wrong. david: in 2016 and after 2020 any organization that does polling had to examine what is it that is being potentially missed in polls? we did that as well, and we have

adjusted both after 2016 and 2020 our methodology and our approach, to make sure we are getting as representative a sample apossible. it is clear that some trump supporters are not participating in -- especially in media polls, what polling generally, and are unrrepresented in what we saw in a lot of the public and private polling. a lot of the campaign polling was off the mark as well. it is a matter of going back, jiggering our methodology, and it is going to be an ongoing effort. i will say, polls overall still work. they give you a snapshot, but like anything i would urge folks as you are reading about polls, do not rely on any one single pole. look at the totality that is out there and step back and look beyond that instant snapshot and

the overall trend. that is where polling is most influencing storytelling. yamiche: i want to turn to what elizabeth brought up, which is covid. this year began with mass distribution of covid vaccines. president biden said july 4 would mark some independence from the virus, but unfortunately the u.s. and world have been fighting covid spikes and waves, and political fights over the pandemic and vaccines have intensified. julie, what sort of challenges has your newsroom faced when you think about covering this unending pandemic,nd how is that affected assignments? how do you put reporters in harms way, when you think about sending people into hospitals to tell stories? elisabeth: it is remarkable -- julie: it is remarkable we having a conversation now. sending people into hospitals or other events. really this has been this up-and-down year. the highs of the vaccines being

rolled out, that feeling like cases were coming down in the u.s., that feeling like we were moving beyond this. we were having discussions about, what post-pandemic coverage would look like. we would be focusing on life after the pandemic, with a recognition that was -- that this was always a story that was going to have any qualities. we were looking at one type of storyline in the u.s. and western europe, and a different story line other parts of the world now as we reach the end of this year we are in a situation where the pandemic is in full force. it is different. vaccines are effective and keeping people from being hospitalized at the same rates we saw before the vaccines, what i think that feeling within the newsroom looking that we are turning the corner, keeping looking to shift our coverage beyond the pandemic, the reality is this is a storyline that will twist and turn a few times, but one we are going to live with for quite some time. yamiche: elizabeth, you have had

the situation where porters have really had to become experts on science, then had to explain that he evolving science to readers. how do you approach that? how hard has that been at the new york times? you have done a great job, but it is clearly a challenge. elisabeth: our covert coverage has encompassed every part of the newsroom, from the national desk, to washington covering them biden administration response, to international covering it all over the world, to, you know, our virus briefing has been running endlessly now, nonstop. to the science task, which is done astonishing work. to the business desk. it has been basically every part of the newsroom. the challenge, i think, now in this latest twist, which is the huge spike in cases, is to cover it accurately, to cover what is happening, to cover the astonishing new caseload, but

also to point out we are in a different place than we were a year ago. the vaccines generally work. most people, if there are breakthrough cases, are not going to get a serious case. we are trying to balance that out so it is not hysterical coverage, but i can tell you readers are interested and it was one of our big drivers in 2020. people really flocked to our coverage, and it is happening again, unfortunately. it is not unfortunately for -- anyway, it is happening again, that people are flocking to the coverage. yamiche: people are definitely flocking to the coverage. terence, the pew research center found 50% of americans trust national news organizations. that is down from 76% in 2016. do you think our industry should be trying to win back that trust, do you think newsrooms should be accurate and not worrying about whether people trust us?

i should say a lot of this is driven by republicans in particular not trusting national news organizations. terence: i think clearly we should be trying to gain the trust of the people we aim to serve, but i think what you see here is -- as with covid -- we have become part of the story that we cover. and so i think that polling number you is kind of a reflection of the political climate of the country. and it has a lot less to do with what we actually produce in terms of news for our audiences. look, i think covid was the perfect example of why we exist. there was a lot of news. it was new. we were literally figuring it out as it happened, as were the public health officials doing it. there was never a more crucial

moment for us to be doing this. at the same time, we were dealing with these huge information -- misinformation -- for less aids. -- fusilades. there is a story about a medical pandemic, and a political divide in the country that is overlaid on this and causing a lot of problems, obviously. yamiche: that is a smart way to put it. the political angle and the medical angle. the relationship between the press and president can often be tense. president biden and white house aides have been critical of how the media has covered issues, like the pandemic, and also his% withdrawal from afghanistan. david, some say president biden has not been covered fairly, that he has not gotten credit for what he has been doing, but there are some who say news media is not holding president biden to the same standard as president -- former president trump, rather. david: fst of all i am still

waiting to meet an administration that thinks they get good press coverage. yamiche: me too. david: you don't hear that all too often. our job remains the same, and in one aspect it may be a bit easier than it was during the trump administration, because of the deliberate misinformation and lying that was occurring. our job and mission remains the same, which is that we have to hold power accountable. accountable to their words and promises to the american people. accountable for their actions. and we need to continue to press on that, and i don't think we have to spend much time being concerned about whether the administration thinks the coverage is fair or not. i think we have to be concerned with letting the facts and our reporting lead the way, to ensure fair, contextualized coverage. i think that is happening. i think it may look less

combative, perhaps, then people saw between the trump administration and the press, cause it is not a agreed-upon, decided-upon political strategy from this administration to make the press a political target and enemy, which, of course, resulted in the distrust you were just talking to terence about. this whole notion of donald trump making the press a political foil, i think that is what has disappeared with the disappearance of trump from the white house. yamiche: elizabeth, what is your take? especially as republicans are saying president biden is not getting the same level of scrutiny as president trump. elisabeth: i agree with david. i don't know if any white house -- republican or democrat -- that likes their press coverage from the new york times. and i guess, from the rest of us. we get criticism that we are too tough on biden. we get criticism that we are not tough enough on him. the white house complains

everyday about our coverage, almost. i think this is the way it is. i think our coverage of biden has been quite tough. in the beginning we questioned the ups and downs of their covid policy. we have covered his premature declaration of the pandemic being over this past summer. we covered the setbacks -- setback after setback of his legislation on the hill. we were very tough on withdraw from afghanistan and the chaos. so, i don't buy it from republicans. that we are too easy on this white house. all of us on this program know that this has gone on forever. that the white house has complained about our coverage, and the next white house says you are being too easy on these guys. yamiche: both of you are making good points about how combative things are. we are still, of course, our job

is to hold presidents accountable. i want to talk about the racial reckoning that began after the murder of george floyd in the summer of 2020. it has continued this year. there were intense battles over the consequences of slavery and how the u.s. teaches its history. there is no doubt race will continue to be a central issue next year. terence, there are few people of color, black men in particular, who are newsroom leaders. talk about the state of diversity in the newsroom, and how should organizations focus on hiring, but also promoting, people of color in their newsrooms? terence: as i mentioned with covid and covering the president, we became a part of a very big story. the racial reckoning came a story about, who tells these stories, and are newsrooms equipped to do it? the short answer is, not nearl close enough. the good thing, i think, was

that it has become such an unavoidable topic, and we are, in some ways, doing a much better job than we had been and a much better job than -- speaking specifically about npr -- then a lot of people are in trying to have this conversation. it is kind of the fundamental american conversation, and for a long time we were avoiding it. talk about misinformation -- years and years of misinformation. i think we finally have -- in some cases -- a whole generation of reporters in newsrooms demanding that we do things differently, and i think for newsrooms like mine it continues to be a struggle. but, i think, a good one. yamiche: a good struggle is a good way to put it. julie, how has the racial

ckoning affected the way your organization has thought about covering race? i'm also thinking of housing, health, of the economy as we see inflation rising. does that impact the assignments you make? the reporters you choose to cover stories? julie: i think you touch on something important here. there is coverage around race in terms of what we saw in protests in the streets after george floyd's death, or coverage of police killings, what we have tried to do at ap's look for, what is the discussion of race in any subject area? what is it vis-a-vis the pandemic or education or housing or economics? i think that is a really positive change in the discussion we are having. any issue we are talking about in this country, there is a racial component to it. there is an inequality component. we have tried to put that at the forefront of the coverage, and it has sparked some fascinating

conversations. and really, crucially, it has lifted up new voices within the newsroom. we have really seen, particularly younger reporters, really empowered, tried to push us to think about these stories in a different way. it has affected the conversations we have when we are hiring staff. what i think our responsibility is is to make sure those changes we are seeing are sustained. that this is not something we are doing just because we are still so close to what we saw happening in this country after the death of george floyd. that this is a systemic change. it is going to be difficult and take commitment, but i think the result in terms of our journalism and reaching a broader array of people is really positive, and we have to always aim for that goal. yamiche: we have about a minute left. i'm going to try and split it between elizabeth and david. elizabeth, the new york times, of course, the 1619 project. how has the conversation been in

your newsroom? elisabeth: i would say -- i just would say that covering race at the new york tim is a shared responsibility. i'm going to bounce off a little bit of what julie said. it's not that we covered it as a topic, but it is a part of everything we do, from the white house, to health care, to all those issues julie talked about. i think most reporters at the times need to have a basic expertise in civil rights history and how this is important to us. i would say we were not completely affected by the 1619 project in washington, but we are a big part of race at the new york times. we cover the government and that is a huge issue throughout washington. i would just say, again, certainly our newsroom has become far more diverse than even five years ago. yamiche: david, we have 20

seconds left, cnn has a whole racial justice unit. why is that a good thing? is it good to separated, or is there a problem there, possibly, separating it? david: we have a race and justice unit, but the point is it integrates with every issue across the newsroom. when you hear, as julie was saying, there it is immigration or the economy or education or the pandemic, that race and justice team logs into all of those coverage areas, making sure it is front and center. yamiche: thank you so much. that is it for tonight. thank you to elizabeth, david, julie, and terence. tonight there is no washingtonweek extra, it will be back next week. have a happy, happy new year. i'm yamiche alcindor. good night from washington. ♪

>> corporate funding for washingtonweek is provided by >> consumer center has been offering plans designed to let people do more of what they like. our customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit consumer cellular.tv. >> additional funding is provided by the estate of arnold adams, the yuen foundation -- committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. sandra and carl delay-magnuson, rose hirschel and andy shreeves, robert and susan rosenbaum, the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to yr pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪

announcer: major funding for "tell me more with kelly corrigan" is provided by the penner family foundation along with support from the gordon and llura gund foundation. we've basically added a whole 'nother generation onto our life span without any of the necessary support. right. and so i think it's actually quite solvable, and people have been working on solutions for decades. [theme music playing] ♪ any one of us who has had or been a nanny, a housekeeper, a caretaker for the elderly or disabled knows that the partnership with the family can be a nightmare or one of life's great blessings.