J840 Communicating Social and Environmental Initiatives

Is there such a thing as objective journalism anymore when a story involves more than a few individuals?

I could report on what the climate bill contains, for example. I can write about what the environmental activists say, and I can write about what the oil and gas industries think of that. I would have presented a story objectively. I can sleep peacefully at night, knowing I have acted with integrity. But have I? Do I really know all there is to know about the “facts” given to me by the activist or by the industry? How much of their opinions did I reproduce? At what point did my own subjective biases creep in? And how much of those biases have I explicitly mentioned in the story?

While an admirable goal, objective journalism is hard, requires extensive investigation over long periods, and the conclusions that consumers draw from a story can very likely be ones that the corporation paying the journalist does not like. Or worse, it may bring down ratings. To add to the difficulty, the journalist’s own opinions seep through, even if they’re not acknowledged.

Not exactly the kind of reporting that can be easily sustained in today’s 24 hour, real-time media frenzy.

With the advent of the “citizen journalist“, who has a vested interest in expressing his or her own opinion, there is an even lesser impetus to maintain objectivity in journalism.

So what we get is pseudo-objectivity. A trojan horse.

Advocacy journalism has a real place in today’s world. When it’s used for something good, it leads to a greater awareness of issues that don’t get the attention they deserve – environmental damage, homelessness, poverty, discrimination, a broken education system, abuse of power, health care mismanagement, etc. When it’s bad, you get Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann.

For true objectivity in journalism, it is important for a journalist to be aware of his or her biases and follow a scientific method that will eliminate them in the reporting. It is also important to declare those biases so the reader can make the final decision.

Victor V