Are Journalists Supposed To Be Objective?
By Denis Johnson
When you work in the media, I agree that you should be allowed to voice your own opinion, but still remain objective at the same time. It all depends on the subject. In the video Where’s the Line: Journalists and Objectivity in the Age of President Trump, they talk about remaining objective.
In the video Michelle Garcia brought up a good point. She said that she falls on the passionate side when it comes to objectivity but you can still remain objective. Like I said it all depends on the subject. If a journalist is a liberal and they are talking about something that Barack Obama said in a press conference that leads towards the left, then I don’t expect that journalist to be objective. If that journalist is a conservative and President Trump says something in a press conference that leans towards the right , then I don’t expect that journalist to be objective.
If a journalist is reporting or writing about a case on Domestic Violence, then I don’t think anyone is going to be against that because we can all agree that Domestic Violence should never happen. Touchy subjects like that is usually when you see journalists just report the news or all agree that it’s wrong. There’s also another good point that Michelle Garcia said in the video about a journalist being an activist.
The point that she made was that you can be an activist in the media, but remain objective by not participating in that march. I think that when it comes to social issues that’s when some journalists objectivity goes out of the window. Like for example the issue about the NFL players protesting during the national anthem. A journalist who may be an activist might say the players are exercising their 1st Amendment rights for a peaceful protest.The other journalist who’s not an activist might say that the NFL players are employees and you can’t protest at work inside of a private company. In reality the second journalist is right.
For the most part one of things about being a journalist is being able to share your opinions. You are not only just reporting the news, but you are sharing your thoughts. When it comes to reporting I do believe that the audience does have the right to hear objectivity when a journalist is reporting something. The audience is depending on reliable news from that journalist. If that journalist isn’t being honest then their credibility is shot.
