Baron’s address came as media consolidation, political pressure on newsrooms, and the blurring of advocacy and reporting are reshaping how major outlets cover the Trump administration, raising questions about whether professional verification standards are giving way to commercial and ideological incentives.

Marty Baron, the retired editor of The Washington Post and former leader of The Boston Globe and The Miami Herald, warned Wednesday that American journalism is losing its shared ethical foundation, telling an audience at New York University that “to each his own” is becoming the evolving ethos for many who cover and comment on the news.

“We will be doing ourselves no favors if that turns out to be the case,” Baron said. “All of us will likely be tainted by the worst practices of any one of us.”

Baron delivered the critique in a keynote address at NYU’s annual journalism awards ceremony. The Associated Press was honored for what NYU called its “unyielding defense of ethical standards and principles” — specifically, the wire service’s refusal to change its style guidance after President Donald Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico. The AP’s lawsuit against the White House over reduced press access is currently under consideration by an appeals court. NYU also honored The Atlantic for how it covered its editor’s inadvertent inclusion in a text chain with Trump administration and military figures, and recognized student journalists from NYU, Stanford, and the University of Texas at Dallas.

CBS News and the Ellison standard

Baron directed sustained criticism at Paramount Global head David Ellison and Free Press founder Bari Weiss, Ellison’s choice for CBS News editor-in-chief, over how they are positioning the network. Paramount is also seeking Trump administration approval for a proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which would give the company control over CNN. Ellison has said CBS News — and CNN if the deal proceeds — will maintain editorial independence.

Ellison has said he wants CBS News to prioritize talking to Americans who identify as center-left or center-right politically, a group he considers the majority of the country. Baron said that framing was “a political goal. It is not a journalistic one.” A news organization guided by that principle, Baron said, “is fated to compromise ethics when a rock-solid story moving toward publication is deemed to fall outside the designated political comfort zone.” A CBS News representative did not immediately comment.

The network faced criticism in February for different framing of federal immigration enforcement statistics. CBS News initially reported that 40 percent of those arrested by ICE had no criminal history and that 14 percent had been charged or convicted of violent crimes — the so-called “worst of the worst” the administration had described as its deportation target. The focus later shifted on “CBS Evening News” to the statistic that 60 percent of those arrested had a criminal history. CBS News has also received attention for inviting Trump administration officials to its table at the upcoming White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, a practice common across news outlets but scrutinized more closely given the administration’s attacks on the media.

Ellison’s perceived closeness with the Trump administration has become a lens through which much CBS News coverage is now examined, according to the AP.

Cable networks and advocacy media

Baron also criticized cable networks that, in his description, “function as mouthpieces and bullhorns for the administration, who routinely funnel on-air personalities into its top positions and who supply them with lucrative landing spots when they exit. These outlets render themselves largely indistinguishable from the governments they are supposed to cover.”

He described media figures from both sides of the political spectrum who consult only sources likely to confirm their existing views and seize on isolated facts to construct sweeping conclusions. “This is an outrage and advocacy industry,” Baron said, “not a fact-finding profession.”

Biden coverage and self-criticism

Baron also directed his critique inward, saying many journalists failed to aggressively report on former President Joe Biden’s cognitive and physical condition while he served as president. Baron retired from The Washington Post in January 2021, days after Biden took office.

“Did some among us shy from aggressively exploring his intellectual and physical health for fear of aiding Donald Trump’s campaign and alienating loyal readers, viewers and listeners?” Baron asked. “My guess is yes. If so, would that be an ethical breakdown in our profession? Again, I’d say yes.”

While conceding he risked sounding sanctimonious, Baron offered his own suggested ethical standard: seeking the truth with humility.

Hegseth responds from the Pentagon

Less than 24 hours after Baron’s speech, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel host, used the Pentagon podium to criticize journalists he said were “only looking for the negative” in their coverage of the Iran war. Hegseth said the attitude reminded him of the biblical Pharisees who cast doubt on a miracle performed by Christ.

“Your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors,” Hegseth said.