Page 61 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

0 | B as and Object v ty

reporting, it appears that the matter of objectivity is not so clear cut. Under
scrutiny, the concept of objectivity has been found to lack a clear definition.
In fact, it seems to have many meanings and is often interpreted differently
by journalists themselves. One research team, Wolfgang Donsbach and Bet-
tina Klett, found at least four different ways that working journalists defined
objectivity. In some cases, it is seen as the negation of subjectivity; the pro-
scription that journalists keep their own ideas, interpretations and opinions
out of a story. In another definition, an objective story is one that includes fair
representations of each side in a controversy. Another way journalists identify
the practice, is the need to adopt an attitude of balanced skepticism towards all
sides in a dispute. Some journalists think of objectivity as the inclusion of facts
to contextualize an issue.
While seeking an authoritative definition that illuminates the practice and
concept, it becomes clear that objectivity is actually multifaceted and should be
defined as an interrelated complex of ideas and practices. Objectivity seems to
provide journalists and the public alike with a general model for conceiving of
and evaluating news stories and reports. It also describes news institutions and
their newsgathering and disseminating strategies. For an inclusive definition, it
is important to understand that objectivity is no one thing, but a socially con-
structed concept that delineates complex professional practices. Robert Hackett
and Yuezhi Zhao suggest that such an “objectivity regime” must be identified on
several levels or dimensions. First, objectivity comprises the goals that journal-
ists and their editors strive for. Referring to the work of Denis McQuail, these
can be divided into values concerning journalism’s ability to impart information
about the world. Such information must separate fact from opinion, and it must
be accurate and complete. It also describes a set of values concerning the stance
reporters should take towards the value-laden meanings of news. These values
are identified as detachment, neutrality, impartiality and independence, avoid-
ing partisanship, personal biases, ulterior motives, or outside interests.
In addition to values and responsibilities, journalism professor W. Lance
Bennett has noted that the concept of objectivity also embodies a set of news-
gathering and presentational techniques, such as “documentary reporting prac-
tices.” The separation of hard news from commentary allows news reporters to
transmit only “facts” that they can observe or that “credible” sources have con-
firmed. These practices are graphically illustrated in the pages of newspapers
when they separate factual reporting from the opinion pieces in the editorial
section.
Objectivity is also part of the embedded institutional framework of complex
news organizations with legal protections. The media, particularly the news
media, function under legal guarantees of free speech designed to insure in-
dependence from the state. Such protections have come to assume a degree of
professionalism with regard to conduct and appropriate skills. In addition,
though most news organizations are part of larger profit-seeking corporate
conglomerates, the concept of objective journalism within this institutional
framework assumes the separation of editorial and marketing functions within
news divisions.