Martin Baron, the executive editor at the Washington Post and one of the real-life journalists at the centre of the Oscar-nominated film Spotlight, spoke one-on-one with CBC Radio host Robyn Bresnahan during Carleton’s 17th annual Kesterton lecture on Feb. 3.
“Where Marty Baron goes, Pulitzer Prizes follow,” said Carleton journalism professor Allan Thompson as he introduced Baron to the audience of over 200 attendees.
The annual lecture, named in honour of Wilfred Kesterton, one of the first people to teach journalism at Carleton, saw Bresnahan interview Baron about the future of investigative journalism in an industry that increasingly relies on technology to tell stories.
Bresnahan also talked to Baron about how he and his former team of journalists at the Boston Globe became the inspiration for Spotlight.
In the early 2000s, Baron was at the helm of the Globe when its investigative unit exposed widespread sexual abuse allegations in the Boston Archdiocese. It was an explosive series that shocked not only Catholic-centric Boston, but also communities around the world. It earned the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize for public service.
Baron said despite the fact the result of the reporting could have put the newspaper in a precarious position with its primarily Catholic subscribers, he didn’t hesitate to give the green light on a lengthy investigation into one of the most powerful institutions in Boston.
“It was not a desire to go after the Catholic Church . . . It was a desire to pursue a story that was right in front of us and pursue it to its ultimate conclusion,” Baron said.
Baron said he was committed to acting in the public’s best interest, even as a Jewish newcomer in a city where most were devoted to the Catholic faith.
“We’re journalists—we’re supposed to pursue stories like this, especially when there’s accusations of wrongdoing,” he said.
Baron also spoke at length about the importance of investigative journalism, even as newsrooms face the reality of shrinking budgets and dwindling numbers of print subscribers.
“At a time when people talk about the responsibility of journalism and journalists, well I think not holding powerful individuals and power institutions to account would be the most irresponsible thing we could do as journalists,” Baron said.
Baron’s evident dedication to preserving investigative journalism at his paper—one of the largest in the United States—appeared to resonate heavily with the audience, many of whom were journalism students, journalism educators, and journalists from the Ottawa area.
First-year journalism student Phoebe Berkeley said Baron’s talk inspired her to think about a career in investigative journalism.
“It’s really important to investigate a story on a larger scale over a longer period of time than just, you know, relaying the news to people on such a short basis,” she said.
Third-year journalism student Peter Rukavina said after he saw the film Spotlight, he felt he needed to hear from Baron first-hand.
“It’s just refreshing, I mean you hear so many negative things about journalism. It’s just neat to see how he reinforces investigative journalism,” he said.
In an interview with The Charlatan, Baron said he thinks news organizations can still produce investigative reporting, they just have to prioritize what’s of most value to their readers.
“There seems to be unlimited resources for covering celebrities and covering Hollywood, covering film, speculating on who’s going to win the Oscar, even as people talk about not having resources for investigative work,” Baron said.
“I’m not sure I buy into the idea that [investigative journalism] can’t be done,” he said.
