American faith in news is at an all-time low, aided by a president hostile to the press. But presidents have long attacked journalists as biased. What does objectivity really mean?
Articles on Objectivity
Displaying 1 - 20 of 22 articles
Cultural ideas are inextricably entwined with the people who do science, the questions they ask, the assumptions they hold and the conclusions they land on.
Photography possesses a certain built-in bluntness that can lend itself to images that are destabilizing and dryly funny.
Seeing objectivity simply as “lack of bias” leaves reporters and newsrooms vulnerable to all sorts of pressures, such as political interest groups.
An uncritical reliance on ‘merit’ in hiring can actually perpetuate bias and inequality.
An object’s color appears differently under different lighting and against different backgrounds − for different viewers. But that doesn’t mean colors are subjective.
In 2015, 77% of respondents thought that ‘being a detached observer’ was ‘extremely’ or ‘very important’. In 2023, it was 69%.
Liberal-leaning stories tend to stay longer on The New York Times’ homepage, even when controlling for popularity. We found the same thing of conservative stories in The Wall Street Journal.
South Africa’s press council may need more awareness campaigns to enable citizens to hold the media accountable.
A university course teaches students why people believe false and evidence-starved claims, to show them how to determine what’s accurate and real and what’s neither.
It’s important that we acknowledge that objectivity is a myth – everyone brings a valuable perspective and lived experience to their work. But the ideal of non-partisan journalism is vital for democracy.
Canada is home to a growing number of new digital-born journalism organizations, even though government policy aimed at helping the news industry has focused mostly on the decline of legacy media.
Universities can ensure students in all disciplines are learning how to contribute to a world that they and future generations want to live in.
The accusation of bias is like kryptonite for responsible news organizations: the stronger their piety to the ideal of objectivity, the more vulnerable they are to complaints made in bad faith.
Unlike scholars, Google’s search engine can’t automatically decide which sources are the most important, most accurate or most significant.
The concept that journalists should be objective is outdated and impossible. Instead, good reporters use life experiences to ask fresh questions.
The campaign to stop newspapers publishing topless photos of women relied on a special brand of emotional energy.
Most people have strong opinions on what makes a song good or bad. But is anyone actually right?
We gave four scholars from different disciplines a chance to offer their opinions on this important question.
Trump’s campaign challenges the conventions of politics and liberal democracy. So maybe the time has come to question how journalists practice objectivity.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor in Media Studies and Production, University of Cape Town
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Intermittent Lecturer I in Information, University of Michigan
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Professor and Chair, Department of Journalism, Stellenbosch University
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Associate professor, University of Cape Town
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Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Oregon
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Senior Lecturer in Music, Lancaster University
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Dean of the Reed College of Media, West Virginia University
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Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Associate Research Professor, Political Science, Co-host of Democracy Works Podcast, Penn State
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Senior Lecturer in Organisation Studies and Sustainability, Royal Holloway, University of London
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Assistant Professor, Social Work | Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, Memorial University of Newfoundland
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Professor of Media Studies, Penn State
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Special Adviser to the President, EDID (Curriculum Transformation) and Professor, School of Professional Communication, Toronto Metropolitan University
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Professor Emeritus, School of Journalism; Senior Fellow, Centre for Free Expression, Toronto Metropolitan University
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Associate Professor, Washington State University