Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Dispelling a common myth about journalists

shakran · 09-08-2004, 05:44 PM

I've seen references to it here over the years, and hear it ALL the time in "the real world." The myth that journalists have no opinion about anything, and that if they DO have an opinion, they're a bad journalist.

We DO have opinions - strong ones - about just about everything, and there's nothing wrong with that. We're not mindless automatons, blindly recording events to regurgitate them in the newspaper or on TV.

There's a difference between opinion and objectivity. You all know I'm rather anti-Bush, but when I do a story on Bush, the viewer would never know it. There's nothing wrong with me disliking Bush, as long as I don't let that opinion influence what I put on the air.

That's why we get so annoyed at the "liberal media / conservative puppet media" comments that get tossed around so much. We're not, and in fact we bend over backwards to make sure our opinions don't influence our coverage (note: I am not, in this post, referring to anyone from the Fox News Channel

)

Since I make my living making people answer MY questions, it's only fair that I turn the tables on myself. I'm open to any questions you have about this or other aspects of the profession.

09-08-2004, 05:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	Dispelling a common myth about journalists I've seen references to it here over the years, and hear it ALL the time in "the real world." The myth that journalists have no opinion about anything, and that if they DO have an opinion, they're a bad journalist. We DO have opinions - strong ones - about just about everything, and there's nothing wrong with that. We're not mindless automatons, blindly recording events to regurgitate them in the newspaper or on TV. There's a difference between opinion and objectivity. You all know I'm rather anti-Bush, but when I do a story on Bush, the viewer would never know it. There's nothing wrong with me disliking Bush, as long as I don't let that opinion influence what I put on the air. That's why we get so annoyed at the "liberal media / conservative puppet media" comments that get tossed around so much. We're not, and in fact we bend over backwards to make sure our opinions don't influence our coverage (note: I am not, in this post, referring to anyone from the Fox News Channel ) Since I make my living making people answer MY questions, it's only fair that I turn the tables on myself. I'm open to any questions you have about this or other aspects of the profession.