The Importance Of The Media Objectivity

What is Objectivity? Not picking sides? Remaining impartial? Recent debates have raised these questions when it comes to the news media. We can agree upon the stance that the media sometimes fails to remain objective. But a more serious question is at hand here; is it worth trying to achieve complete neutrality? Many could argue that objectivity is one of the most significant problems is todays media. But, it could be more that it is proving itself pointless and problematic. Many of us can come to the conclusion that every major news outlet caters to one side, left of right. You can easily tell by the articles they publish little to no effort was there to remain fair. In her article “Challenging ‘He Said, She Said’ Journalism,” Linda Greenhouse, a senior research fellow at Harvard Law, uses the phrase “siren call” in reference to “fairness and objectivity.”

Barnes elaborates on the points that the media was “fearful of offending Obama,” so they continued to publish stories praising him instead of covering his continuous “broken promises,” (2). Adolph Ochs, as quoted in Noah Rothman’s “Taking sides in Ferguson,” believes that the media should report news “without fear or favor,” (1). The media should be presenting information to the public that does not favor one side over another and they should not fear what the outcome of their story is going to be. But, Noah Rothman agree that the media should remain bias in his article “Taking sides in Ferguson,” by sharing that “in Ferguson the media made judgement calls beyond the bounds of detached observation and acted as arbiters,” (22). Saying the media posed as a go-between during the events in Ferguson. While they attempted to remain objective they in turn became part of the problem at