Editorial: Trump maligns the Post, but we think it's important part of our coverage

We get calls occasionally from conservative readers complaining about our use of The Washington Post News Service.

The Post, of course, is not just one of the country's most fabled journalistic institutions. not just the subject of movies that is made forever famous by the courageous role it and Wheaton's Bob Woodward played in ferreting out the abuse of power that brought down a president in the Watergate scandal. It's also one of the news organizations singled out for repeated and generalized criticism by our current president and his allies.

This unabashed war on his critics by President Donald Trump has to a large degree been effective. It has so tarnished The Washington Post brand with some Trump loyalists that a proud byline that should strengthen the credibility of our national coverage instead puts them reflexively off.

Let's make clear that the bias against the Post seems to be shared by only a relatively small portion of our readership. If anything, the Post has strengthened its reputation among most readers with the solid reporting it has provided in the first year of Trump's presidency. But there is, we concede, a minority of detractors that is vocal.

What, as a newspaper, are we to do? Here's what: We make no apologies. Our perspective boils down to this: The Washington Post publishes some of the most important journalism in the country. It's investigative work broadens the public's understanding of our government and sheds light on government secrets. Its work advances the public's vital right to know.

Is the news organization aggressive and is its coverage critical? Often so, and we must acknowledge, we wish the Post had been as aggressive and as critical during the presidency of Barack Obama. On that score, its critics have a point. But that was then and this is now. The aggressiveness is a good thing. Journalism that poses fair but critical questions is a vital responsibility of the press in a free society.

The Post operates with some of the highest standards for accuracy in the industry. It is tough but fair. If on occasion its reporting lacks evenhandedness, it is the job of our editors to edit for fairness and we take that responsibility seriously.

The Post is imperfect. We'll grant you that. So are we. Everyone is. But it's important to understand that politicians would prefer fawning coverage. Certainly, Donald Trump has shown that he pathologically disapproves of critics of any kind. When he complains about the Post, he seldom cites a special error. Usually, it's a blanket insult that leaves no concrete criticism to corroborate or dispel.

We've got an obligation to you to provide the best reporting we can. We believe the Post coverage helps us to do that on the national level. Our belief in it is not an agenda; it's an obligation.

Facts matter. Support a free press.