Ageism in the news
There's no way for journalists to avoid covering age this election season.
Assuming the current front-runners hold, whoever is elected as president in November will become the oldest person ever sworn into the highest office. Whether it's Donald Trump or Joe Biden, it will be the second time they've broken that record.
Voters clearly have concerns, more about Biden's age but also about Trump's. It shows up over and over in both polls and voter interviews. This is an opportunity for journalists to challenge the beliefs we have about aging and competence.
The Trump campaign contributes to the conversation, questioning Biden's age and mental fitness. Biden's representatives question Trump's mental fitness and health, without mentioning age.
For the record, Biden is 81; he turns 82 in November. Trump is 77; he turns 78 in June.
Given all the talk about age, it's not surprising that our inbox has several notes from audience members who have questions and concerns about ageism slipping into NPR's journalism. We have letters questioning the fairness of NPR's coverage of the presidential candidates' ages. And we also have a letter that detects some condescension in a headline about older consumers. The letter writers aren't advocating for NPR to ignore issues of aging. Instead, they are asking for fairness and fact-checking. Below we address several notes from listeners and readers.
Journalism itself has a confusing attachment to age. Students are often taught to include the age of every source in news stories, only to graduate into
