Today NPR’s program On The Media featured a fascinating discussion with Lawrence Weschler on the topic of the inherent fictitious aspects of journalism and nonfiction. Weschler proposes a nuanced view of what constitutes truth in journalism and nonfiction, but more interesting to me is his implicit identification of the responsibilities of a reader. Weschler says that as readers we have a responsibility to evaluate works of journalism “as an adult encountering another adult in the world,” which I understand to mean that while we have a right to expect a good-faith effort on the part of journalists, we as readers hold ultimate responsibility for our own credulity. The relevant portion of the program is embedded below.