Objectivity, Independence, and Transparency: Three-Legged Stool?

All journalism, but especially citizen journalism, faces ethical quandaries. Three of the thorniest issues in journalism ethics are independence, objectivity, and transparency. Together, these provide the core context for any work of journalism. They concern process as much as results and perception.

There is general agreement that all three are noble goals for journalists. However, there is lively debate over whether any of these are fully achievable in the real world -- and even more debate over what these terms actually mean. We'll be discussing and exploring these issues considerably in I, Reporter. 

Personally, I see all three goals as being complementary and mutually necessary for sound journalism, whether professional or not. It works like a three-legged stool. If any one leg is emphasized at the expense of another, the stool tumbles. Yes, I have sat on enough bar stools to speak with authority on this matter.

I'm too rushed at the moment working on several simultaneous projects. So for now I'll just kick this off with a brief overview. I'd like to hear others' opinions on these goals, so we have a broader base for future discussion...

DEFINITIONS:

One of my favorite books, which I recommend to nearly everyone (and I mean everyone) is "The Elements of Journalism," by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenthal (print edition or e-book). Let's start this discussion with some relevant excerpts from that book on each of these journalistic goals (emphasis and truncations are mine):

• OBJECTIVITY: "In the original concept, ...the method is objective, not the journalist. The key was in the discipline of the craft, not the aim. The point has some important implications. One is that the impartial voice employed by mane news organizations, that familiar, supposedly neutral style of newswriting, is not a fundamental principle of journalism. Rather, it is often a helpful device news organizations use to highligh that they are trying to produce something obtained by objective methods. ...Journalists who select sources to express what is really their own point of view, and then use the neutral voice to make it seem objective, are engaged in a form of deception."

• INDEPENDENCE: "This allegiance to citizens is the meaning of what he have come to call journalistic independence. ...That term has often been used as a synonym for other ideas, including disengagement, disinterestedness, and detachment. These terms are a confusion and reflect a fuzzy understanding on behalf of newspeople. [Professional] journalists have contributed to their woes by passing that confusion on the the public, and citizens have understandably become skeptical, even angry, as a result."

• TRANSPARENCY: "If journalists are truth seekers, it must follow that they be honest and truthful with their audiences, too. ...If nothing else, this responsibility requires that journalists be as open and honest with audiences as they can about what they know and what they don't. ...Unfortunately, the idea of transparency is all too frequently violated. Too muvh journalism fails to say anything about methods, motives, and sources."

Challenging ideas. We'd love to hear your thoughts on these topics. Do you think they all are equally important to sound journalism? What questions do you have about each of these goals: why they exist, whether they're truly constructive or feasible, and what challenges they raise specifically for non-professional journalists.

Please comment below. Thanks!