By Brandon Goodwin and Patrick T. Sullivan

Kernel reporters Brandon Goodwin and Patrick Sullivan sat down for an interview with Pulitzer Prize winning commentator Leonard Pitts Jr. Tuesday afternoon.

Q. How do we resolve bias in the media?

A. We’ve sort of reached a point where no one knows what’s true anymore, and that’s sort of scary. I don’t know if you saw the column today, but that sort of dealt with that. It dealt with the fact that it’s sort of a controversy of what the Civil War was about. If you bother to read a history book or look at the people who were there, there’s no controversy at all. But because it’s uncomfortable to talk about, it’s suddenly a controversy. It’s the denial of objective fact that’s scary to me.

Q. That’s kind of common in popular culture?

A. I think it’s extremely common in political culture and it’s showing up in education and in journalism. It’s extremely common and we should be extremely concerned.

Q. How do we combat it?

A. Schools need to be more rigorous in teaching critical thinking skills. There was a study that came out not too long ago that says by sophomore year in high school, kids really haven’t learned anything about critical thinking. News media needs to learn how to start calling lies lies. I think we are entirely too polite. The only person that I know of in mass media who does that these days is (“Daily Show” host) John Stewart and something’s wrong with that. John Stewart’s not a journalist, but he’s the only person I know who goes to the tape and says, “He said this and now he’s saying this.”

Q. Once the truth is out there, how do journalists get people to believe it?

A. I don’t know that the people that are here now are ever going to believe it. If you are determined to believe something is not true, I can hit you with a dozen facts from a dozen unimpeachable sources and it will not mean a thing. You will believe whatever it is you believe. I’ve had this experience over and over again. I’ve had people that I write something that they don’t want to believe, and I’ll show them the history book and the newspaper … It’s not to get them to believe a certain thing, but understand how to think. Not what to think; how to think.

Q. Have you always seen a rejection of facts during your career?

A. I think not. I don’t want to look at the past through the proverbial rose-colored glasses, but I do know that I hear more people in my line of work and education saying this, which makes me believe I’m on to something. The things that were being said in 1994 when I began writing this column to the things I hear now, it seems like more people are fact averse. Stupidity is not lack of information. Stupidity is the inability or unwillingness to use the information once you have it.