Photo by Katrina Fuller: Marty Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post and former editor of The Boston Globe, discussed changes in journalism at Chautauqua Institution on Friday. Baron was interviewed by Eric Newton, Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication innovation chief.

CHAUTAUQUA — An editorial heavy hitter that helped inspire the movie “Spotlight” offered insights into the changing world of news Friday morning.

Marty Baron, executive editor of the Washington Post and former editor of the Boston Globe spoke at Chautauqua Institution. Baron was joined in conversation by Eric Newton, Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication innovation chief.

“Marty is here at a time that is at a convergence of history for The Washington Post, for journalism, the first amendment and, as we’ve heard a lot this week, for the nation,” Newton said.

Newton asked Baron if he had planned on becoming the editor of the Washington Post some day.

“I was certainly well aware of that coverage, was aware of the investigative reporting at the time and that was one of the things that inspired me to get into the field, but I was never imagining that I would be editor of The Washington Post,” Baron said. “I didn’t know if I would be editor of anything at all, for that matter.”

Newton asked if the film “All The President’s Men,” which delved into the investigative reporting by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein that revealed the depth and breadth of the Watergate scandal to the world, impacted him.

Baron said when he first saw the film, what impacted him most was the idea that journalism was a check in the midst of a powerful system.

“I think because of the education I had, the journalism professors I had (and) the kind of journalism we were practicing in the school paper, I was always strongly affected by the idea that journalism means to hold powerful individuals and powerful institutions accountable,” he said.

“Let’s fast foward 40 years to another movie clip,” Newton said, showing a clip of the movie, “Spotlight,” regarding the Boston Globe’s investigation into child sex abuse cases involving Boston Roman Catholic priests in 2001, during which time Baron was the editor. “You were a brand new editor at the Boston Globe, you showed up on the first day of work and started pushing for what turned into that investigation. Why?”

Baron said he had a few weeks between jobs as he transitioned to the Boston Globe, and spent his time reading the paper. He saw a few stories regarding a child sexual abuse case involving John J. Geoghan, a Catholic priest that has been accused of abusing up to 80 young boys. Then, the Sunday before Baron started at the Globe, he read a column by Eileen McNamara regarding the case, saying that “the truth may never be known.”

In his first morning meeting at the Globe, Baron said he brought the column up in the meeting, wondering why there wasn’t a definitive truth out instead of the “he said, she said.” Someone at the table mentioned the documents were under seal.

“I said, ‘I don’t know the laws in Massachusetts, but in Florida, I think we would’ve been inclined to go to court to try to unseal those documents – have you thought about doing that?'” Baron said. “The response was silence.”

The investigative work that was done following his suggestion uncovered a vast system in Boston, which shuffled priests that abused children from parish to parish, including Geoghan. These reassignments were known and orchestrated by the upper hierarchy of the Boston Catholic Church.

Discussing the Washington Post, newton mentioned that the paper currently has the motto, “Democracy Dies In Darkness,” under its masthead which it never had before. He wondered if it had anything to do with current events.

“We were aquired about four years ago by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and he felt that, like some other news organizations, we should try to articulate our mission everywhere we publish,” Baron said. “We feel actually very strongly that our mission is to make democracy work the way it’s supposed to work, and we’re supposed to shine the light into dark corners.”

Baron said choosing the motto was a process that began before President Donald Trump was elected

“It’s been pretty popular, I have to say, with certain segments of the population,” he said wryly. “There’s another segment of the population that doesn’t like it so much.”

Newton asked what Baron kept from The Washington Post’s long history and what has he changed or let go of.

“I think we have to dispose of the idea first of all that we’re all about print,” he said. “We’re not all about print anymore. Yes, we want to have a high-quality print product, but most of the people here reading the Washington Post from a print newspaper because they don’t live in the Washington Metropolitan area. They’re reading us online.”

He said the paper has moved into other medias such as using video, telling a story on social media and in other ways. However, despite the changes, the Washington Post has held on to its values.