Download Media Ethics - Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism

Media Ethics
Objectivity as a journalistic ideal
What is objectivity?
“A mechanism to divorce fact from
opinion” (Patterson & Wilkins)
 “A refusal to allow individual bias to
influence what is reported or how it is
covered” (Patterson & Wilkins)

Are advertisements and press
releases expected to be
objective?
Has American journalism
always striven for objectivity?
What factors led to a standard of
objectivity?
Technology
 Advertising
 Yellow journalism
 Growth of public relations
 Progressivism

Without protection against
propaganda, without standards
of evidence, the living
substance of all popular
decision is exposed to every
prejudice and to infinite
exploitation.” Walter Lippmann, “Liberty and
the News” (1920)
What are the problems with
objectivity?
Journalist as stenographer: the
McCarthy scandal
 Journalist as official mouthpiece: Civil
Rights era/Vietnam
 Journalist as neutral observer: Bosnia,
Rwanda

Objectivity at the micro-level
Verifiable facts (The Mule/Janet Cooke)
 Neutral words (Impending war/terrorist)
 Multiple viewpoints (environmental
coverage)
 Consideration of perceptions (Philly
Daily News mug shot cover)

"I think the cover was literally correct, but a
mistake on our part because what we have to
worry about is perceptions, and not just the
literal truth," Stalberg said. "My perception was
that it was suggesting that all people who
commit murders are black males. Everyone saw
it a little differently, but I can understand why
people were offended by it."
Objectivity at the macro-level
Selection of stories and topics
 Presentation of shows/papers
 Cumulative impact
 Pack journalism
