The Case for Full Disclosure

Admitting that reporters care who wins is the best way to make political news trustworthy

Illustration by Francisco Caceres for TIME

On Feb. 5, I woke up, went for a run, showered, had a yogurt smoothie, took the kids to school and voted for Barack Obama. Only one of those facts is worth your knowing, and it is the one that most journalists would never tell you.

In today's confessional era, reporters disclose private matters ranging from marriage to stock ownership. Everything except voting. Some refuse to vote at all—like Washington Post editor Len Downie, who told NPR, "I didn't want to take a position, even in my own mind" on elections. (To which...

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