Journalism is a noble calling. The working journalist is to report, write, and explain in accordance with the highest standards of the profession.

The Christian, of all people, should be committed to the written word, because God has revealed himself by the written word.

Clarity, brevity, and veracity are goals toward which the journalist should strive. The journalist of faith should write articulate, rich, penetrating, and complete stories that go below the surface. The journalist of faith should exhibit humility, adaptability, quickness of foot, perseverance, and aggressiveness in getting the story.

McCandlish Phillips has written, “The irreducible, elementary, primary, essential requirement of news is that it be factually accurate….The journalist who is a Christian will be as accurate and balanced and fair and faithful to facts as possible….That journalist will not lie, will not distort, will not make things up, and will not embroider the story for effect or state it out of balance.”

Factual accuracy in news reporting, undiminished and undistorted by attitudes and outlooks, is the bedrock of the trade. When reporters and editors get that right, they serve the public honorably and well, and are worthy of respect from their readers and colleagues.

It is to the end of equipping journalists of faith to embody these goals that the McCandlish Phillips Chair of Mentoring is established.