A growing number of major media outlets and organizations say they are through trying to be objective in their coverage because editorial directors say doing so does not allow for a “diversity” of views within newsrooms.
The finding comes as part of “a series of interviews conducted by two journalism scholars,” the Daily Caller reported.
Former executive editor for The Washington Post Leonard Downie Jr. and former CBS News President Andrew Heyward interviewed more than 75 journalism and media leaders to get an understanding about how the industry looks at the concept of “objectivity.” Most of them argued that journalists ought to be able to inject their own biases, beliefs, and alleged experiences in their reporting, adding that true journalistic integrity is either undesirable or not very realistic.
“Objectivity has got to go,” noted Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, editor-in-chief at the San Francisco Chronicle.
“[I]ncreasingly, reporters, editors and media critics argue that the concept of journalistic objectivity is a distortion of reality. They point out that the standard was dictated over decades by male editors in predominantly White newsrooms and reinforced their own view of the world,” Downie Jr. wrote.
“They believe that pursuing objectivity can lead to false balance or misleading “bothsidesism” in covering stories about race, the treatment of women, LGBTQ+ rights, income inequality, climate change and many other subjects. And, in today’s diversifying newsrooms, they feel it negates many of their own identities, life experiences and cultural contexts, keeping them from pursuing truth in their work,” he added.
“Journalists of color” and LGBTQ journalists said that reporting objectively “negates their own identity, life experiences and cultural contexts, keeping them from pursuing truth in their work,” according to Downie Jr.
The journalists surveyed said that they think objectivity keeps them from reporting accurately while barring them from being able to inject their backgrounds and personal beliefs.
Not surprisingly, one journalistic leader made it all about race.
“It’s objective by whose standard? … That standard seems to be white, educated, and fairly wealthy,” said Kathleen Carroll, former executive editor at the Associated Press.
The Daily Caller noted further:
The media shouldn’t simply use “neutral language” by default, New York Times executive editor Joseph Kahn said. For instance, if there is undisputed evidence of racism or falsehoods, journalists should be direct with readers.
The Los Angeles Times allows their staff to write personal essays so they can share more of their identities, said editor Kevin Merida. Such essays appear on the first page, including a gay reporter’s story about marriage and the legalities of gay marriage.
USA Today has no problem allowing their reporters to write about their own experiences, so long as the stories aren’t too biased, said editor-in-chief Nicole Carroll. She also welcomes a diverse group of journalists to express their experiences when discussing newsworthy stories.
“What we found has convinced us that truth-seeking news media must move beyond whatever ‘objectivity’ once meant to produce more trustworthy news,” wrote Downie Jr. “This appears to be the beginning of another generational shift in American journalism.”
