Objectivity: Impossible?

There is bias in the news. There is a lack of objectivity in many media forms and stories. Only in a utopia could we have complete and perfect objectivity all the time. There is bias when a newspaper runs one story 700 words and another 500. There is preference when a television station runs one package for a certain story and submits to a brief wrap-up by the news anchor for another.

Bias and preference will never disappear from the media, and if they need to for complete objectivity, then objectivity must not be possible. However, we must be reasonable. Objectivity is possible to an extent. Reporters can interview both sides and write a piece that solely uses facts to tell a story. They can make an effort. They need to make the effort and present the story in the most objective and unbiased way possible. If reporters do that, then they have achieved objectivity. Sometimes it's about taking that extra step, whether it's getting another source or verifying a fact. In a digital world, where speed is often more important than quality, reporters must take the time to get the story right and present it in the most objective way possible.

A problem with the news

If it bleeds, it leads. We all know this tale too well. The top stories anywhere always seem to be related to death, crime and/or destruction. Now if the president of the United States is assassinated, that needs to be the top story, there's no question. But let's take a different example. We all remember Anna Nicole Smith's death, because the story was everywhere. The worst may have been CNN, which prides itself on its political coverage. CNN treated this story with about as much coverage as this year's primaries. What did Anna Nicole Smith do for society? She was an entertainer, a model and a TV personality. That's certainly not worth weeks of discussion after her death. What's more is that there was nothing to discuss. There was very little to the story to begin with, and the media blew it out of proportion.

I'm getting at the fact that the media need to rethink the way they value stories. A man may save a boy's life, and often that story is buried in the inside pages of a daily newspaper or even completely left out of a newscast. In a world full of problems, there are plenty of stories out there of success, of people helping each other. It's there that the art of storytelling thrives, on telling stories of people. There's no art in obsessing over the death of a model. Journalists must make the choice to do what's right instead of what's easy.

Agenda Setting

Regardless of how hard they try, mass media will always impact the way people think. Many publications and news sources attempt to stay objective in every package, podcast or headline. But it's impossible. In a newspaper, the editors will decide which stories to run, which photo to use, how many words to run a particular story. On TV, it's similar. Producers must ask themselves how long to run a package and the order of news stories in the program. Bias will be there and agenda setting as well. Editors determine what's newsworthy, which news element is more important, which angle to take on a story. Many mass media outlets are aware of the problem and will do anything they can to report a story in the most objective form as possible. They should let readers decide for themselves what to believe, but only the media can present a story to the consumer.

However, the media can make a greater effort. The media should shoot for objectivity all the time, but not lie to viewers or readers. They shouldn't hide their agenda or try to present it as something it's not. There will be an agenda with every news program and every issue of a new magazine. In an ideal world, there are no agendas, but this is not reality. The reality is that news sources can be objective all the time. They need to be.