STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We've been listening to people who report the news. Social media influencers are a big part of this year's election, the people who spread or interpret or attack news stories for their audiences. Somewhere behind them are news organizations that produce the information. We heard from the editor of The New York Times, whose influential coverage has come in for fierce criticism this year. Next, we called Emma Tucker, editor of a competing paper - The Wall Street Journal.
EMMA TUCKER: We have a very, very clear focus on the world. It's business, finance, economics and geopolitics. So the question we get to ask ourselves is, how is this election - this incredibly consequential election, possibly the most important election of the last 100 years - going to impact or have an effect in those areas? How is it going to impact the economy?
INSKEEP: Emma Tucker is a veteran of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, the global media empire that includes Fox News. But the Journal has a distinct reporting tradition. Its correspondents cover everything from China to the war in Gaza to the presidential campaign. And one of this year's influential stories was from June, headlined "Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping." The story drove discussion of Biden's age well before the president withdrew from the race.
TUCKER: We just simply asked the question, OK, well, what is he like behind closed doors? And then we set about reporting the story, which was a, you know, painstaking, difficult story to get over the line because, for obvious reasons, the White House did not want this story to see the light of day. So it was a difficult story to nail down, but we did the dogged reporting in order to be able to do that.
INSKEEP: People on the left naturally asked then - may still be asking now - where's the coverage of Trump's fitness? Is there an equivalent story the Journal has done?
TUCKER: Well, the story of Trump's mental acuity - I mean, that's a story that's been out there for a long time. It's been much written about. If there was something new to say on it, then yes, we would report it. But I think, at the moment, there's nothing particularly new. I mean, everyone knows - I mean, as I say, you know, his agility mentally is - has been something that's been much documented, but there's nothing new to say on it.
INSKEEP: Would you argue that in both of these cases, your interest or lack of interest in a story is driven by events rather than the interests of your corporate owner or anybody at the publication?
TUCKER: Well, I have to say loudly and clearly The Wall Street Journal newsroom is independent. We cover stories. You know, we have great editors, and we're thinking short term, medium term and long term about what are the stories that we need to tackle ahead of this election to give our readers - to keep them informed and allow them to make decisions and think ahead and plan ahead and read stories and read journalism that is useful to them?
You know, the economy, by all objective criteria, is doing remarkably well, and yet Americans are not feeling it. Why is that? We've done lots of reporting from swing states, but also sort of areas trying to sort of get the identity of places - I mean, America is a vast country; what might be true of one place isn't necessarily true of another - to try and bring those stories out. And then we do - as you say, we wait for events to come along, and when they do, we cover them.
INSKEEP: We're in an age where it seems that people are far more likely to believe the conspiracy theory than the straightforward statement. Do you find it difficult to persuade people sometimes that you are independent, given that you have a very loud editorial page with a very particular conservative point of view and a very famous owner, Rupert Murdoch and News Corp?
TUCKER: Well, first of all, we're entirely separate from the opinion page. I mean, look, there's always going to be a cohort of people who aren't happy, but we are the most trusted media brand in the U.S. for a reason. That's because we approach the news in a dispassionate way. We aim to be fair, balanced and objective. So, listen, a conspiracy theorist is a conspiracy theorist. They're out there. They're often difficult to persuade otherwise. But our job is to make sure that we can stand by our journalism, that people can trust what we're reporting.
INSKEEP: I want to ask about your relationship with Rupert Murdoch and preface this by saying people have strong opinions about Murdoch, but one thing that he has always been is a newspaper guy. He's always been interested in newspapers. I would be shocked if he did not sometimes give you an opinion about something you put in the paper.
TUCKER: The main thing about Rupert is - you're absolutely right - he loves the news, and he funds the newsroom, and - but he lets us be independent, and he appreciates the value of independent news. It's as simple as that. And on the very rare occasions that I see him, he'll often just want to know what's going on. It's - you know, there's no mystery.
INSKEEP: Do you get a note or a call from him - great story, hated that story, wish you would pursue that more?
TUCKER: No, I don't.
INSKEEP: Do you think he's reading the paper every day?
TUCKER: I'm sure he is. Yeah. But he keeps his opinions to himself.
INSKEEP: Do you accept the idea, which has been expressed by a lot of journalists, that covering Donald Trump is a different challenge than covering any other political figure?
TUCKER: I think it - yes, I think it's difficult. I think he's an - you know, he's a character like no other. Well, yeah, I think I do accept that. I think it's a challenge.
INSKEEP: And what's the challenge exactly?
TUCKER: I think the challenge is how do you - you know, our - how - I mean, I think the challenge is reminding people or putting in context what he says. You know, we always - we're unflinching in how we report things. We're always looking for transparency. If people say things that aren't true, we make sure our readers understand that. I'm trying to think - how do you put this? It's like...
INSKEEP: Take your time.
TUCKER: Or maybe this is the best way to put it - is our readers are very sophisticated. We don't want to just be sort of truth nannies that fact-check every single thing on either side because that becomes very tedious. I think we accept we've got sophisticated readers. They understand that politicians bloviate and exaggerate, some more so than others. But where there are obvious untruths and, you know, things that are not correct, we will make sure that we give the context for that. And I think we have to hold Donald Trump to account just as we would any other politician.
INSKEEP: Emma Tucker of The Wall Street Journal. It's a pleasure talking with you. Thank you so much.
TUCKER: Thank you, Steve.
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