(iverson's) currentbuzz: Whose "Objectivity" is it Anyway?

This is a good piece from AJR (American Journalism Review) that takes the modern corporate journalist focus on "balance" for objectivity or truth. It is long, but has lots of great quotes from various journalists from across the mediasphere.

One of the things that comes up here is that irritatingly American absurdist reduction of problems to simple disputes between two point of view as if our world were that simple. When was the last time you faced an issue at work or home that was a question of either or, and not some multi-faceted interplay of a variety of factors. If life were so simple, we wouldn't need journalism to help us understand what is going on.

Sometimes, mayors (or presidents or anyone) say stupid things. If a journalist isn't just a shill for the mayor (or president or anyone) shouldn't he or she note that the remark was stupid? At least the reporter oughtn't try and explain or excuse or apologize for the stupid remark.

The truth itself doesn't respect point of view. The truth is never balanced... We have to not give in to an atmosphere that's become so partisan that we're afraid of what we say every single time we say something."

Source: ajr.org

Has our slavish devotion to journalism fundamentals--particularly our obsession with "objectivity"--so restricted news organizations that a comedian can tell the public what's going on more effectively than a reporter?

Source: ajr.org