Objectivity...or Independence?

My two cents on the critically important question of "objectivity." It's been tying journalists into knots for years. But as as I understand it, for most of journalism's history in this country, it was a partisan craft that made no particular effort at objectivity (the same holds true to this day for much journalism around the world). Objectivity is a fairly recent construct, and a pretty artificial one at that, given the thoroughly subjective nature of the human experience. But, that doesn't mean the idea hasn't been extraordinarily useful. ...

For me, rather than a slavish attachment to an unachievable ideal of objectivity, what we're really talking about as journalists are goals like fairness, context, independence.

For insights on independence from that long-ago era when “civic” (not “citizen”) journalism was the talk of the day, check out this still-illuminating overview written by Bob Steele, media ethics guru at the Poyntner Institute. In it, he cites this nice credo for journalists – and citizen journalists -- from Jane Eisner, then the editorial page editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Eisner says:

"Our central mission is to report the news, to set priorities, to analyze but not to shape or direct events or outcomes. Subsume or diminish the central mission, and we become like any other player in society, like any other politician, interest group, do-gooder, thief."

So should citizen journalists adopt the same measure of independence as working journalists? You bet. If you don't come at an issue with an open mind, and don't leave the topic thinking there might still be more ways to come at it than are being pushed by one advocate or another, you're just not trying hard enough.

Comments

[hannu leinonen]

It is very natural that we change our way of speaking, when speaking to different people. We tell a story differently to an adult than a child and we tell it differently to a neighbor than a stranger. This is not objective. Facts might be the same, but often we are polite and don’t want to offend people. It’s not objective.

I think that we cannot and in a way should not be objective, but we should be open. Hidden agendas and lobbying for something with out telling our readers will kill the trust.

As a journalist we work for our readers. They have to understand why we care for the things we are writing about. We can care and we can take sides, but it has to be open. I’d call this subjective, but honest reporting.

[Amy Gahran]

Great piece, Adam. Very thought provoking. It amazes me how many of our media colleagues forget about the subjective roots of this craft.

I agree that objectivity is a useful tool, even though it can never truly be achieved. Generally, cries of "You're not being objective!" translate as "You're not using my preferred information filter! Stop challenging my assumptions, you're scaring me!"

In citizen journalism, transparency is absolutely crucial. In fact, it's far more vital than objectivity.

Transparency is also crucial to professional journalism. Sadly, in my opinion, too often the tool of objectivity is wielded in ways that obscure, rather than illuminate, the journalistic process and editorial decisions. Hence, many people have become so addicted to the form of traditional, professional journalism that they ignore the actual substance and purpose of journalism. This is true for both media professionals and their audiences.

In my opinion, many professional news organizations could use a hearty dose of transparency -- with perhaps a side dish of humble pie.

- Amy Gahran
Your faithful co-editor

[Jack Krupansky]

So, we have objectivity, independence, and transparency.

Can I safely assume that independence means that the CJ "calls their own shots" and chooses what to write and how to write it? As opposed to a traditional professional journalist, who may be significantly constrained by their employer. Writing that has been "commissioned" (to promote a position, product, service, etc.) or a "work for hire" may not typically be considered independent.

So, as a question: Is a citizen journalist, by definition, independent?

Are objectivity and transparency two goals, such that a CJ needs to pick one, or maybe both, but choosing neither is simply not acceptable? If you write something in a truly objective manner, is there anything you need to be transparent about? And as long as you're reasonably transparent (motives, values, agenda, who's paying you to write, etc.), then being very subjective and not particularly objective may be highly valued with specific sub-audiences (e.g., activist, hawk, dove, environmental, pro-business, etc.).

It feels like transparency is a spectrum and you need more of it if you write less objectively (more subjectively), but you and your readers need less of it if you lean towards the higher objectivity end of the scale.

New question: Does a CJ need to be humble, or is a clear sense of humility "optional"?

-- Jack Krupansky

[A. Adam Glenn]

Jack astutely notes that working journalists "may be significantly constrained by their employer" in what they write, and asks "is a citizen journalist, by definition, independent?"

True enough that reporters are often asked to do stories they don't think have real value, or their stories may be spiked because they conflict with business goals of their news organization (others can probably offer examples). But even if imperfectly executed, independence is a treasured value to be pursued. That can be at a small level (such as an individual reporter turning an unwanted assignment into an honest, critical appraisal of the topic assiged), or large (such as a news organization opting to go with a report even if it may shake a business relationship). Those things happen every day too.

As to citizen journalists who serve no single master, independence is not just about who you work for. it's about the topics you choose to cover, the mindset you take in covering them, and the willingness to shape the story to your own understanding and not someone else's. A citizen journalist has to strive for independence, just like a working journalist. And it doesn't come easy.