Mark Ferbrache: To Find Truth, Objectivity Must Go?
Two former media executives recently published the results of interviews with over 75 leaders of media organizations. Based on the responses, the authors conclude that adherence to objectivity in journalism is passé.
Former Washington Post editor Leonard Downie Jr. and former CBS News President Andrew Heyward conclude that journalists today “believe that pursuing objectivity can lead to false balance or misleading “bothsidesism” in covering stories about race, the treatment of women, LGBTQ+ rights, income inequality, climate change and many other subjects. And, in today’s diversifying newsrooms, they feel it negates many of their own identities, life experiences and cultural contexts, keeping them from pursuing truth in their work.”
Downie further states that his “goals for [their] journalism were accuracy, fairness, nonpartisanship, accountability and the pursuit of truth.”
Uh-excuse me, but Downie’s goals seem to zero in on the very definition of “objectivity.” In fact, the word is conspicuously missing. Last I checked, “fairness” is a synonym for “objectivity.” What am I missing?
The quote, often attributed to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, reads: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” It seems applicable here. Okay, maybe not facts, but Downie’s survey reveals a consensus among journalists who feel entitled to speak “their own truths” in their news coverage, rather than be constrained by objectivity. As though truth is malleable and subject to interpretation.
Two years ago, I wrote a piece highlighting the shared ethics common to both FBI agents and reporters.
In this sense, reporters and FBI agents are cut from the same cloth. At heart we are investigators — more precisely, truth seekers. Whether it’s in a newspaper or a statement sworn before a magistrate, our personal and professional ethics compel us to be thorough, accurate and honest. The public relies on us both to act with integrity.
Law enforcement officers swear to uphold and defend the Constitution and protect the communities they serve. Reporters and journalists, by tradition, strive to inform and educate the public about matters that impact their lives. Indeed, some believe it’s their civic duty to expose misconduct in government, corporations or other entities so those responsible are held to account.
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