![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
Objectivity has long been contentious in American journalism. Many practitioners call it essential to a news organization’s credibility. Critics, however, hold objectivity is impossible and urge reporters simply to reveal their biases. For educators, teaching objectivity is challenging. Some, seeking a middle ground, instead urge fairness and balance, or counsel “impartiality.” Even such approaches are challenging. This article explores the difficulties, based on a study where students were lectured on fairness, balance, objectivity, and bias. They wrote news stories before and after the lessons. Evaluators found no substantial improvement in fairness and increased bias, however, pointing up the difficulties involved.
Keywords bias, fairness, objectivity, balance, media education, teaching fairness, impartiality
References
Section:
|
Aslan, R. (2013). Reza Aslan to Fox News anchor: “I wrote ‘Zealot’ because I am an expert.” Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsc64Q4KqkE Google Scholar | |
|
Bender, J. R., Davenport, L. D., Drager, M. W., Fedler, F. (2012). Reporting for the media. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Boudana, S. (2011). A definition of journalistic objectivity as a performance. Media, Culture & Society, 33, 385-398. doi:10.1177/0163443710394899 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Brooks, B. S., Kennedy, G., Moen, D. R., Ranly, D. (2011). News reporting and writing. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. Google Scholar | |
|
The BusinessWeek code of ethics . (2009). Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/ethics.htm Google Scholar | |
|
Cunningham, B. (2003). Re-thinking objectivity. Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved from http://www.cjr.org/feature/rethinking_objectivity.php?page=all Google Scholar | |
|
Dean, W. (2015). The lost meaning of “objectivity.” American Press Institute. Retrieved from http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/journalism-essentials/bias-objectivity/lost-meaning-objectivity/ Google Scholar | |
|
Keller, B. (2013, October 27). Is Glenn Greenwald the future of news? The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/opinion/a-conversation-in-lieu-of-a-column.html?_r=0 Google Scholar | |
|
Kushner, A. B. (Ed.). (2014, May 27). PostEverything. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/05/27/welcome-to-posteverything/ Google Scholar | |
|
Mencher, M. (2011). Melvin Mencher’s news reporting and writing (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Mindich, D. T. Z. (1998). Just the facts: How objectivity came to define American journalism. New York: New York University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Mitchell, A., Gottfried, J., Kiley, J., Matsa, K. E. (2014). Political polarization & media habits. Pew Research Journalism Project. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/political-polarization-media-habits Google Scholar | |
|
Overholser, G. (2004). The inadequacy of objectivity as a touchstone. Nieman Reports. Retrieved from http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100725/The-Inadequacy-of-Objectivity-as-a-Touchstone.aspx Google Scholar | |
|
Reynolds, D. S. (1995). Walt Whitman’s America: A cultural biography. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. Google Scholar | |
|
Rich, C. (2013). Writing and reporting news: A coaching method. Boston, MA: Wadsworth. Google Scholar | |
|
Sambrook, R. (2015). Objectivity and impartiality for digital news (Digital News Report 2014). Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Retrieved from http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/essays/2014/objectivity-and-impartiality-for-digital-news-consumers/ Google Scholar | |
|
Schudson, M. (1978). Discovering the news: A social history of American newspapers. New York, NY: Basic Books. Google Scholar | |
|
Schudson, M. (2003). The sociology of news. New York, NY: W.W. Norton. Google Scholar | |
|
Schudson, M. (2007, December 13). Lippmann and the news. The Nation. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/lippmann-and-news# Google Scholar | |
|
Schudson, M., Tifft, S. E. (2005). American journalism in historical perspective. In Overholser, G., Jamieson, K. H. (Eds.), The press (pp. 27-28). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar |
