On Tuesday, TIME Magazine continued a tradition held since 1927: naming a “Person of the Year.” The publication sets out to feature a person, group or idea that, according to its editors “for better or for worse…has done the most to influence the events of the year.” In not too bated breath, TIME’s Editor –In-Chief Edward Felsenthal named “The Guardians and the War on Truth” as its feature. Four different covers featured Jamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo and the Capital Gazette of Annapolis, Md. But this year TIME Magazine did more than just name journalists – it exposed the failings of journalism.

Following its own standard, the “award” is supposed be bestowed upon the greatest influencer of events. But are we not told journalists, these “Guardians of the Truth” are not supposed influence? They tell us time and again they are out to find the Truth, report the Truth, expose the Truth. They report the story, not be the story. Nothing but the facts, right? The Washington Post’s Post 2016 election slogan became “Democracy dies in darkness.” In February of 2017, The New York Times debuted a new marketing campaign: “The truth is more important than now than ever.” CNN came up with something about confusing bananas with apples. Today we are inundated with dire warnings of America’s impending doom from ‘fake news’ and misinformation campaigns aimed at influencing public opinion. But if journalists’ sworn duty is to report facts, how can they also be named as having the most influence?

The other troubling thing that really exposes this ridiculousness was the conversation around TIME’s unveiling on the TODAY Show. After revealing the cover with the much discussed Khashoggi followed by the cover representing the tragedy around the Capital Gazette, TODAY co-anchor Hoda Kotb introduced the two lesser-known cover profiles: those of Maria Ressa and Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo.

Hoda Kotb: “A couple of other covers may have people Googling, saying I wonder who these two people are.”

In an era in which the world seems as small as it’s ever been, when the news cycle is 24/7, and there’s a camera (or smart-phone) in every corner of the earth, why wouldn’t every American not know who these people are? They were important enough to put on the cover of a major news publication. And we’ve just been told journalists are the last, bravest soldiers on the front-lines of truth and democracy and exposing injustice. It’s because the news as we consume it in the mainstream media runs through a filter, and up until now, those stories didn’t make the cut.

Much has been written about the declining of trust in the media, but outlets, reporters, and journalists aren’t helping to improve their credibility. Like Aesop’s Fable “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” people are starting to see stories in the news as just those: stories; taken with caution, listened, to but not believed.

Most days I wake up early to go to my local gym. There are eight TV screens mounted from the ceiling, each showing different channels. Music videos, HGTV, ESPN, CNN, FOX News, ABC, NBC, and CBS. In addition to my morning workout, I get the headlines, breaking news, and special-interest stories from the major networks (and a bit of home-improvements ideas and baseball updates). Most striking is how easy it is to think someone watching CNN, ABC, NBC, or CBS was being informed on the happenings of a totally different planet than someone watching FOX. It’s not so much how they report, but what they report. There are good reporters out there working in various networks and platforms, but most of what gets reported, and what is completely left out contributes to the distrust. TIME should be lauded for putting Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on its cover, but to have to explain who they are-not to mention the circumstances around why they are jailed (they are Reuters journalists jailed for investigating the massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar) borders on ludicrous. (It also gives good reason to consume news from multiple outlets, but that’s a subject for another day.)

An example is the exposure of Harvey Weinstein; in an October 11, 2017 article, The New York Times detailed how Ronan Farrow, a contributing correspondent for NBC News at the time of his investigation, was delayed and rebuffed by his own news organization, giving the appearance NBC News was covering for the most powerful man in Hollywood. Farrow eventually went to The New Yorker, where the story was published.

Another story that slipped through the cracks is that of Kermit Gosnell. The Philadelphia “Doctor” was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder for killing babies in his abortion clinic. J.D. Mullane was one of the very few who covered the story and he writes about the experience, and lack of national coverage, his piece for LifeNews.

Part of why his story is so compelling is the picture he took of the empty media gallery at the trial. He details not only the lack of coverage of the trial, but the movie that later portrayed the events around it. To her credit, Kirsten Powers wrote a piece for USA TODAY as well as George Will. But I’m willing to bet more people heard about Melania Trump wearing high heels to tour the flood zone in Texas than the horrific deeds at the hands of Kermit Gosnell.

Another major news event of that year was Hurricane Maria and the devastation it caused to Puerto Rico. Wall-to-wall coverage was given to the destruction, the loss of electricity, the failed infrastructure. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz was given ample airtime to place the blame squarely on President Trump. The media couldn’t get enough of her. The feud fed into the narrative that President Trump didn’t care about people of color. Yet now, after the cameras have turned to the latest media outrage, we learn the Puerto Rican government was stashing massive amounts of rebuilding materials and equipment, lifesaving supplies were sitting useless on pallets, and recently the AP reported a mayor and two government officials now face corruption charges totaling $8 million in misused federal and local funds- including from U.S. Housing and Urban Development. But if you blinked, you would miss these reports. The disparity in coverage is glaring.

There will always be those stories with an agenda, people who are more concerned with being first instead of right, or who choose to focus on the salacious or outrageous instead of importance. The trouble is that once a narrative is formed it’s hard to reshape. President George H.W. Bush was branded an out of touch old-fogey after a story on his visit to a National Grocers Association convention was written by a New York Times reporter Andrew Rosenthal. Rosenthal actually based his article on a pool reporter’s filing that Bush had a “look of wonder” on his face upon being shown an innovative technology not yet used in stores. Within months of his inauguration, President Trump was accused of moving the bust of Martin Luther King, Jr. out of the Oval Office, going along with some version of the Trump-as-bigot narrative. It turns out the bust wasn’t removed, just moved to a different area of the room. Interestingly, coverage of the late Aretha Franklin’s memorial service mostly failed to show or mention the real anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan seated on stage with former president Bill Clinton. And the same news outlets have failed to cover the anti-Israel comments made by newly-elected congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Many probably remember Rathergate, in which Dan Rather of CBS News presented as authentic documents which were critical of President George W. Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard. The documents turned out to be forgeries after close examination by forensic examiners. Mr. Rather was consequently punished by…being a regular contributor on MSNBC, and CNN.

TIME Magazine can bestow its honors on whomever it chooses. But those editors, and the press they hold out as unblemished pursuers of truth in the name of justice, have a responsibility to live up to that expectation. Felsenthal stated at the TIME unveiling, “As we looked at the choices, it became clear that the manipulation of truth is really the common thread in so many of this year’s major stories.” If the press wants to reclaim its credibility, it might start with taking its own advice and return to reporting the stories, instead of shaping or being the story. Walter Cronkite used to say “And that’s the way it is.” But I prefer a little more Joe Friday: “Just the facts, Ma’am.”