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Objectivity in Journalism

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Objectivity in Journalism Objectivity in Journalism Steven Maras polity Contents Detailed contents VI Acknowledgements X Introduction 1 1 Why and when did journalistic objectivity arise? 22 2 What are the main objections to journalistic objectivity? 58 3 Why is there so much dispute over 'the facts'? 82 4 What are the grounds ON which journalistic objectivity has been defended? 104 5 Is objectivity a passive or active process? 122 6 Can objectivity coexist with political or ethical commitment? 140 7 Is objectivity changing in an era of 24/7 news and on-line journalism? 173 8 Is objectivity a universal journalistic norm? 201 References 230 Index 254 v Detailed contents Introduction 1 Objectivity as a trans-national norm? 5 Defining objectivity 7 Why does objectivity in journalism matter? 11 An unpopular ethical touchstone 15 Starting points 17 1 Why and when did journalistic objectivity arise? 22 The drivers of journalistic objectivity 23 The professionalization argument 23 The technology argument 28 The commercialization argument 31 The political argument 34 Other factors 36 Dating objectivity in journalism: the 'Schudson- Schiller' problem 38 The proto-objective era of news as commodity, 1830-1880 42 Objectivity as democratic realist epistemology 46 Objectivity as a reporter-focused occupational or organizational ethic, 1880-1900 47 Objectivity as informational ethic, circa 1900 49 The ideal of objectivity, post-World War I 51 VI Detailed contents Duelling doctrines: bias and credibility, 1960- present 54 Conclusion 56 2 What are the main objections to journalistic objectivity? 58 Values 59 Scientistic journalism and empty facts 61 Objectivity as biased and irresponsible 63 Source dependence 65 Frame-blindness 66 Objectivity as contradiction in terms and dangerous myth 70 Objectivity as a bystander's journalism: the journalism of attachment 73 The nature of truth and reality 74 The view from nowhere 77 Conclusion 81 3 Why is there so much dispute over 'the facts'? 82 The uses and a buses of philosophy 82 Putting facts and truths together 84 Correspondence and coherence 85 Empiricism 86 Positivism 88 Pragmatism 89 Realism and naturalism 91 Facticity and issues of communication 95 Separation theories 98 'Postmodernism' 100 4 What are the grounds ON which journalistic objectivity has been defended? 104 Coherency grounds 104 Interpretive grounds 106 Factual grounds 107 Metaphysical grounds 108 Vl1 Detailed contents Procedural grounds 112 'Standpoint' 114 'Pragmatic' grounds 117 Conclusion 120 5 Is objectivity a passive or active process? 122 Objectivity through 'subtraction' 123 'Additive' objectivity 125 The journalism of attachment 126 Interpreti ve reporting 128 Re-assessing interpretive reporting in the McCarthy era 130 Conclusion 138 6 Can objectivity coexist with political or ethical commitment? 140 Facts, values and the world 142 Objectivity as ethical and ideological commitment 144 Reporting the critical counter-culture 145 The caring journalist 151 The engaged journalist and the public agenda 153 Objectivity as war journalism 157 Objectivity and the watchdog role 161 Public or civic journalism 166 Conclusion 172 7 Is objectivity changing in an era of 24/7 news and on-line journalism? 173 Cables, satellites and the challenges of change 176 The foxification of news 179 Reinventing objectivity at the BBC 181 Al-]azeera 183 News blogs and citizen journalism 189 Conclusion 199 8 Is objectivity a universal journalistic norm? 201 Objectivity as a norm 203 Trans-nationalism, norms and social conditions 206 Vllt Detailed contents To what extent has the objectivity norm been adopted outside of the US? 210 Objectivity and 'European' journalism 210 Objectivity and the British connection 214 The British Broadcasting Corporation 216 Australia 221 'Asian values' in journalism 224 Conclusion 226 References 230 Index 254 IX.
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