Objectivity and Fairness

The concept of objectivity in journalism developed almost a century ago, as a reaction to the sensational, opinion-driven reporting that was common in most newspapers of the day. The term “objectivity” was originally used to describe a journalistic approach or method; journalists would seek to present the news in an objective way, without reflecting any personal or corporate bias.

Over time, objectivity was required from the journalists themselves. The executive editor of the American newspaper The Washington Post, Leonard Downie, took the concept so seriously that he refused to register to vote. But many journalists today concede that total objectivity is impossible. In 1996, the U.S. Society of Professional Journalists dropped the word “objectivity” from its code of ethics. Journalists are human beings, after all. They care about their work and they do have opinions. Claiming that they are completely objective suggests that they have no values. Instead, journalists have largely agreed that they must be aware of their own opinions so they can keep them in check.


The audience should not be able to tell from the story what the journalist’s opinion is. By using an objective, scientific method for verifying information, journalists can report stories that do not reflect their own personal views. The story itself, in other words, should be impartial and fair.

Journalists also strive to be fair in their reporting by not telling one-sided stories. They look for contrasting views and report on them without favoring one side or another. In addition to verifying assertions of fact, they will seek out differing opinions in cases where the facts are in dispute.

Fairness is not the same thing as balance, however. Balance suggests that there are only two sides to any story, which is rarely the case, and that each side should be given equal weight. Journalists who seek that kind of artificial balance in their stories actually may produce coverage that is fundamentally inaccurate. For example, the vast majority of independent economists may agree on the consequences of a particular spending policy while a small handful has a different opinion, which has been proven wrong by past experience. A story giving equal time or space to the views of both groups would be misleading.

The challenge for journalists is to report all significant viewpoints in a way that is fair to those involved and that also presents a complete and honest picture to the audience. “Fairness means, among other things, listening to different viewpoints, and incorporating them into the journalism,” says reporter and blogger Dan Gillmor. “It does not mean parroting lies or distortions to achieve that lazy equivalence that leads some journalists to get opposing quotes when the facts overwhelmingly support one side.”

Observation

 On-the-scene observation is one of the fundamentals of good reporting. Journalists want to witness events for themselves whenever possible so they can describe them accurately to the audience. Good reporters use all of their senses on the scene. They look, listen, smell, taste, and feel the story so the audience can, too.

To do this well, journalists need an accurate record of their observations. A print reporter can do his or her job with a notebook and a pencil or pen, but many also carry audio recorders and cameras, especially if they are expected to file stories for an online edition as well. For radio, journalists need to capture sound, and for television, both sound and video.

Using a recorder is one way of making sure that any quotations you might use are accurate. But electronics have been known to fail, so it’s important for all journalists to be skilled note-takers. Here are some tips on note-taking from experienced reporters:

• Write down facts, details, thoughts, and ideas. Make clear which is which, and where they came from.

• Draw diagrams of rooms, scenes, or items in relationship to each other.

• Always get correctly spelled names, titles, and contact information. Ask for birth date and year, to make sure you have the person’s age right.

• Spell out interview ground rules in the notebook.

• Don’t crowd the notebook. Leave space for annotating notes.

• Leave the inside covers blank to write down questions to ask later.

• Annotate the notes as soon as possible.

Many reporters use their own shorthand for common words so they can take notes more quickly. They annotate their notes, spelling out abbreviations to avoid any confusion later.

They also will mark the most important information they have learned, good quotes they may use in the story, anything they need to follow up on or check for accuracy, and questions that still need to be answered.

It sounds obvious, but reporters must be sure they have the tools they need before heading out to cover a story: notebook, pen, tape or digital recorder, and fresh batteries. There’s nothing more embarrassing than arriving on the scene only to discover there is no film or tape in the camera, or that the only pen in your pocket is out of ink.

 Today’s journalists often carry additional tools: a mobile telephone and a laptop computer. A few other simple items can be useful, as well. Putting a rubber band around your notebook to mark the next blank page makes it easy to find quickly. A plastic bag will protect your notebook when it rains, so the pages stay dry and the ink doesn’t run. A small pair of binoculars will help you see what’s going on even if you can’t get very close. A calculator will help you convert information like the number of tons of fuel carried by an aircraft into terms more familiar to the audience, in this case, liters or gallons.