Balancing the Facts: How Can a Journalist be Fair in this Polarized Media Landscape?

JakeHighwell
Aug 23, 2017 · 4 min read

The question posed is a tough one to answer.

How can you be fair? How can you be impartial? How can you carry on the responsibilities of being a journalist in an atmosphere of so much political partisanship?

Those questions are not easily answered.

I personally try my best to look at each story from an objective point of view. Of course, we all have our own inherent biases based on our own life experiences.

My experiences in journalism school taught me I was going to have to put research at the forefront — investigate the story from all the different angles. It also taught me not to listen to the biases of my own liberal professors and to come up with a conclusion based on my scholastic research.

This of course ruffled the feathers of the tenured liberals who extolled the virtues of liberalism at my J-school. In the end it didn’t matter and I earned my J-degree.

Graduating from the collegiate newsroom doesn’t guarantee a change in ethos. Fairness in the newsroom is also offset sometimes by the agendas set by the person or persons who own the publication.

I learned this to be the case when I started out as a cub reporter at my local hometown newspaper. I was eager to go out and be the next Edward R. Murrow. I wanted to make a name for myself and uncover the lies and corruption of the local political machine. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that those who sign your paychecks are more often than not in bed with the political class you are trying to expose.

This was my “Santa Claus is not Real” moment as a journalist. I learned quickly that the virtuous newsroom crock being extolled by my liberal professors wasn’t quite factually true.

Other revelations would also become apparent as my career progressed.

The life of a journalist is not glamorous one if you are at the bottom of the totem pole. Long hours with little pay have deep-sixed the careers of many aspiring scribes. Many journalists also learn the ladder to the top of the profession is often limited to those with blue-blood pedigrees and connections to those with influence.

In fact, many J-School degree holders graduate to other careers in order to make ends meet. Sadly, there are a glut of talented journalists who have never had the opportunity to ascend to the top of the profession. But, thankfully, the advent of blogging and social media has given journalists the opportunity to create their own niche.

That is what I am trying to accomplish.

Still, there are still challenges for those who are interested in breaking into an arena full of SJW’s and liberals.

There is a genuine liberal bias that prevents many conservative-leaning journalists from receiving the same opportunities as their liberal counterparts.

Some journalists don’t want to deal with the negative labeling and decide to remain anonymous as trolls. Who wants to be blacklisted for being a writer for a publication such as Infowars.

The tide is however changing.

The rise of President Donald Trump has also provided a needed injection of conservative views into the national media discussion. These voices are now pitted against legacy news outlets such as the Washington Post and the New York Times.

The George F. Will’s of the world are not happy with the arrival of these new interlopers onto the mainstream media landscape.

Too bad!

However, the new burgeoning conservative press needs to avoid getting too close to their political subjects.

Intermingling of work and pleasure is commonplace inside the Washington Beltway. The new conservative media needs to be careful not to let their own innate biases get in the way of being objective.

This unfortunately has led to the erosion of prestige within the mainstream media ranks. The 2008 election of Barack Obama has led to a major loss of objectivity among the liberal journalistic class.

It seems the liberal MSM is still punch drunk on Obama Kool-Aid. This same journalistic inebriation has carried over into the coverage of the Clinton's and the rest of the DC Establishment.

If you don’t think this is not true just google “Wolf Blitzer DNC Dancing” and see what comes up.

The moral for all aspiring journalists is to keep as much separation as possible from the subjects you are supposed to be covering objectively. Do your research. Make sure you are taking into account takes from different political viewpoints. And lastly, be open to friendly discussion and open debate. If you can do this you will be a “great journalist!”

Easier said than done unfortunately!

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JakeHighwell
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