Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, spoke to Washington and Lee students on March 17 about journalism in a rapidly changing political and media landscape. His talk emphasized the importance of accountability and integrity in what he called a growing culture of “impunity” in American politics.
The speech was a collaboration between the Roger Mudd Center for Ethics and the Knight Program in Journalism Ethics as a part of the Leadership Lab, a series organized by the Mudd Center to generate discussion about “ethical and thoughtful leadership” in different professions, according to the Mudd Center website.
The conversation was held in the Stackhouse Theater and moderated by Eric Deggans, the Knight Professor of Journalism and Media Ethics.
The discussion centered around “Signalgate,” a political scandal in which Goldberg was accidentally added to a private group chat between officials in President Donald Trump’s administration on March 11, 2025. The chat contained classified discussions, including plans for military strikes across Yemen.
Goldberg described Signalgate as a reflection of a broader problem in American politics. He discussed the current administration’s refusal to take accountability for the mistake that led to Signalgate and its attempts to shift the responsibility to Goldberg.
“It’s a story about impunity,” Goldberg said. “They do things and there are no consequences … everything just goes by and it has no effect.”
Signalgate is one example of how journalists have struggled to adapt to covering the Trump administration, Goldberg said. He explained that while journalists instinctively want to create a coherent narrative, Trump often speaks or acts in a way that lacks the structure journalists are accustomed to reporting on.
Part of this problem stems from Trump’s “velocity of lying,” which can be difficult for journalists to keep up with, Goldberg said.
“It’s kind of like a Watergate everyday,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg said The Atlantic has seen success in reporting on the Trump administration because it truthfully depicts Trump’s incoherence.
“Not all things are coherent,” Goldberg said. “We made the decision early on to call it as we see it.”
Goldberg linked the current political climate to algorithm-based and sensationalized media, stating that Trump would not have become president if Americans had not been conditioned by 25 years of reality TV and social media, which have warped the perception of normalcy.
Goldberg said that social media has altered the way that Americans engage with politics, creating an expectation for immediate entertainment. The constant flow of information allows media consumers to move on from news quickly, creating a lack of accountability that has characterized recent politics.
“If social media companies were held responsible, we’d have a healthier world,” Goldberg said. “We should be held responsible for what we publish.”
Despite these challenges, Goldberg encouraged journalism students to resist cynicism in a fragmented media landscape and stay committed to producing high quality reporting. He said it can be a good time to be a young reporter.
“I would want to be 20 and invent something new and better, but just adhere to some old values,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg advised that students should continue to improve their writing and avoid becoming impacted by the cynicism that has become prominent in modern culture.
“Don’t become the thing that has coarsened our society and injected so much falsehood and craziness into our society,” Goldberg said.
