Ann Compton discusses 40 years of journalistic evolution at annual Lowell Lecture
Nixon’s pardon. Iran–Contra. The fall of the Soviet Union. The Boston Marathon bombing. Most reporters would be glad to have covered even one of these stories. In 40 years as an ABC News reporter and White House correspondent, Ann Compton covered them all, and on March 29 she shared the experience with a record audience at Harvard Extension School’s annual Lowell Lecture. Compton opened with a parody of recent headlines that had President Trump confusing tax reform and the NCAA Final Four brackets, and appointing TV’s Judge Judy Scheindlin to the Supreme Court. “Now that,” Compton said, “is fake news.” Compton discussed how journalism has changed over her career. She said the digital age has redefined the field, which is now splintered with hundreds, if not thousands, of news sources of varying degrees of credibility. She said the changes have made reporting “shallower, shorter, and more shrill,” while public trust in the media...