Ambiguity of the term "objectivity" in the media

Résumé du document

The importance of the concept of objectivity in the media is well attested. Since the beginning of the newspaper press in the early nineteenth Century in the United States and in Europe, rising democracy in the Society has produced various economic, political and technological factors which have led to a neutral and "non-partisan" reporting. So what does it mean in this context? Objectivity in journalism can be considered as a synonym of neutral point of view; it is a process in which facts are separated from opinions and ideologies. Stories are therefore organized around facts, and the basis is the neutrality of events: in case of conflict, reporters have to present the views of both sides to balance the situation. This essay will also review the progressive evolution of journalism and the rising popularity of the concept of objectivity.

Extraits

[...] Objectivity is a concept that has always been discussed in the world of media. From the beginning of the journalism era in the nineteenth Century until now, the main objective of reporters has remained to give the public the right to know fairly what was happening in the Society. Even if conglomerates and monopolistic associations as well as commercial interests have often influenced the quality of the Press, most journalists have always tried to report without mentioning ideologies or evaluation of facts. [...]

[...] in News culture, The Rise of objective newspaper reporting At the end of the nineteenth Century, standards of objectivity were also representative of professionalism; this was reinforced by the foundation of the National Association of Journalists in 1884 to achieve professional status. Impartiality and scientific methods of reporting were indeed required after World War One and its huge amount of propaganda campaigns, in which partiality was the most important feature. Journalistic professionalism has thus begun to accord high importance to a neutral form of reporting, without any explicit positioning for or against a particular group of interests. [...]

[...] It is evident that the concept of objectivity is related to power: media are, in every country, subordinated to the ruling class. In other words, the dominant class is the one who is the most influent in the media, which explains why news media defend the economic, social and political issues of privileged groups. As Kant reported, sensible intuition without a concept is blind, while a concept without a sensible intuition is empty”, which means that facts as received as sensible intuition are always shaped by an abstract concept. [...]

[...] This situation is very difficult to manage and is still relevant today in many countries of the Middle East region. The Soviet Theory, closely tied to the Communist ideology, forces media systems to serve the interests of the working class, it has been very powerful in Eastern Europe with the influence of USSR. In these cases, it can be argued that the main stream of thinking relies on “non-objectivity”, since it is impossible for individuals to act and think freely. Journalism also suffers from this lack of freedom and can't have a neutral view on facts. [...]

[...] New York: Pearson/Longman 6th edition. Democracy and the news Herbert J. Gans. Oxford, England; New York: Oxford University Press Media bias Paul Ruschmann, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers Just the facts : how "objectivity" came to define American journalism David T.Z. Mindich, New York: New York University Press Information age journalism : journalism in an international context Vincent; publisher London: Arnold Websites Objectivity (journalism) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivity_(journalism) Re-thinking Objectivity by Brent Cunnigham http://www.cjr.org/issues/2003/4/objective-cunningham.asp The Twilight of Objectivity: How opinion journalism could change the face of the news. [...]