Objectivity: Bob Woodward Of The Washington Post

Objectivity - A word ironically enough, subjective to the person choosing to define it. Acknowledging it or the lack of it has often been a cause of debate amongst journalists and the publics to which they cater. Debatable, contested, criticized and often inconclusive, the idea of objectivity has long been strived for in the hopes of promoting the ‘truth’ and upholding the interest of the public. Michael Bugeja a Journalism professor at the Iowa State University defines it as ‘seeing the world as it is, not how [one wishes] it was”, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post sees it as a way that can trip us on the way to “truth” (Cunningham, 2008) and writer George Orwell saw it as an intellectual honesty and balanced judgment that seemed non-existent. Three individuals, three perspectives, all paralleling the fundamental pursuit of the “simple truth”. With these varied opinions, one questions if objectivity is simply a utopian construct, if it simply an idea to strive by and keep journalists in line or is it perhaps outdated and unachievable concept that needs to be explored further in order to reach a more conclusive definition. With the turn of the 21st century revolutionizing the way news is produced and consumed, one asks if objectivity is still as sought after by journalists and their publics or has a new and more achievable concept surpassed it.

This essay delves into the history of this philosophical concept specifically in relation to American journalism not only in the attempts to define it but also draw out some of the problematic and intricate complexities that made and make it hard to