You can be very very OK with the work you've done and continue to do. I'm grateful for journalists who care and for the sacrifices and risks taken. We would be in big trouble otherwise. Look at Belarus, Myanmar and Hong Kong.
Regardless of the goal for objectivity, no news article or broadcast is without bias. The mere location or order of show tells the news consumer what the publication believes is important. Front page above the fold screams - this is important, read me. Page 20 buried at the bottom, meh, this isn't relevant. The editors and show runners show their bias constantly.
For the record, I still get chills whenever I hear Joe Biden referred to as President. I'm grateful for him too. What a mess he inherited.
I really appreciated this post as part of your commitment to give us a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes in investigative journalism. It's really important for readers to know that, try as journalists might, they always have a point-of-view. It is not only an inevitable part of the human condition, but I dare say something that makes their writing all the more engaging.
The sham Wizard of Oz warning to "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" is just that, a sham. There is always someone behind the curtain. And, to the extent that we can't eliminate that reality, we need to be aware of it.
I guess I feel that the dedication to objectivity taught in journalism schools, at least relative to straight news reporting, is only part of the story. If journalism is a contract of sort with readers, then readers have their end of the bargain to uphold: they need be discriminating, even skeptical sometimes; and they need to seek out alternatives sources when the subject matter at hand is controversial.
In this day of spoon-fed media consumption, this may be too much to ask of readers. But they should certainly be aware that those wrapping themselves claims of being "fair and balanced" are least likely to be so. Likewise, we should be wary of news organizations which hunt down minuscule bias in tweets while ignoring other ways that reporters are compromised as they maneuver for access at the highest levels.
Suffice it to say, the first step to improving readers is to put them on notice that journalists, like it or not, come with their own points-of-view. Thank you for being up front about this. It is a necessary first step.
You've made me think. I may ask you at some point about using some of your comment, if that's all right. I am a reader too, but I have long been told off by readers that I can't ask for discernment.
I'm curious: Brits know what they're getting when they choose The Telegraph over The Guardian or vice-versa, and some read both to be better informed. Are we really less capable than they, or is the furor over journalist objectivity a convenient way to attack viewpoints we don't like?
And does a biased article really change minds, or is it choir-preaching? In law school, they told us that to be really persuasive we should avoid drawing conclusions for the jury. That is, it is far more effective to lay out the facts in a very deliberate and seemingly-objective manner, leading undecided jurors step by step in the direction you want them to go but letting them take the final step on their own. In that way, they will feel ownership of the conclusion and will advocate for it during deliberations. That would seem to mean that the most dangerous articles are the seemingly unbiased ones.
In general, with few exceptions, the media reporting during the Trump presidency was horrific. In striving for neutrality, they left the country defenseless in the face of incessant propaganda. By normalizing Trump, his open bigotry, absurd incompetence, and brazen gaslighting, they allowed the right-wing narrative to grow with minimal pushback. Those journalists who retained their jobs by playing the 'both sides' game or refusing to acknowledge the 5-alarm fire when it could have been mitigated, seem to have few ethical issues with publishing damning exposes now that it's far too late to save our democracy. I had thought that the instinct for self-preservation would have kicked in, since the GOP will quickly move to stifle dissenting media voices once they take control of Congress next year. Tim Alberta is warning of the incessant talk about an imminent civil war amongst everyday Republicans. His warnings in 2015 that Trump would win the 2016 elections were largely ignored by mainstream media. They are now ignoring his warnings about the level of civil unrest about to reign down, and once again MSM is AWOL. We don't need neutral note-takers, we need journalistic warriors to prepare this country for what we are about to face.
As the person that watched you grow up and mature, I knew that at a very early age you had opinions and were very quick to voice them. Your continued search for veracity was the driving force and has been your mantra throughout your life. Unfortunately, as you stated, the line between “biased” truth and outright “biased” lies has been crossed far too often and the difference has been lost to most of the public.
Before I make my comments I too will disclose a summary of my worldview. In the 2016 election P refused tp vote for president because the choice was between the crooked dragon lady and the rich street urich who was very much like the urichs that I grew up with. Since I thought that dragon lady would win I voted for a congress of the other party. In 2020 I did not vote for president because it was choice between the street urich on steroids verus the part of nation that hates people like me and sees nothing wrong with antifa. My view of Mr. Trump is that he fulfilled all my expectations good and bad. He expoentially grew the internal fighting with a modest amount of success ubtik covid-19 for which he was a total failure,.
I am old enough to remember the walter cronkile / edward R Murrow generation pf jpurnalism. It was the finest example of journalism in world history. These people had a point of view but rarely reflected it their work. They were very fair in which stories to cover, how they covered the
story, what facts came first, what facts came last, and what facts are ignored. Today I do not find any news coverage fair and balanced. Today Journalism fulfills the words of the philosopher Martin Buber. Journalism is the lowest form of truth. You are wrong bias journalist does a poor job.
You can be very very OK with the work you've done and continue to do. I'm grateful for journalists who care and for the sacrifices and risks taken. We would be in big trouble otherwise. Look at Belarus, Myanmar and Hong Kong.
Regardless of the goal for objectivity, no news article or broadcast is without bias. The mere location or order of show tells the news consumer what the publication believes is important. Front page above the fold screams - this is important, read me. Page 20 buried at the bottom, meh, this isn't relevant. The editors and show runners show their bias constantly.
For the record, I still get chills whenever I hear Joe Biden referred to as President. I'm grateful for him too. What a mess he inherited.
I really appreciated this post as part of your commitment to give us a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes in investigative journalism. It's really important for readers to know that, try as journalists might, they always have a point-of-view. It is not only an inevitable part of the human condition, but I dare say something that makes their writing all the more engaging.
The sham Wizard of Oz warning to "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" is just that, a sham. There is always someone behind the curtain. And, to the extent that we can't eliminate that reality, we need to be aware of it.
I guess I feel that the dedication to objectivity taught in journalism schools, at least relative to straight news reporting, is only part of the story. If journalism is a contract of sort with readers, then readers have their end of the bargain to uphold: they need be discriminating, even skeptical sometimes; and they need to seek out alternatives sources when the subject matter at hand is controversial.
In this day of spoon-fed media consumption, this may be too much to ask of readers. But they should certainly be aware that those wrapping themselves claims of being "fair and balanced" are least likely to be so. Likewise, we should be wary of news organizations which hunt down minuscule bias in tweets while ignoring other ways that reporters are compromised as they maneuver for access at the highest levels.
Suffice it to say, the first step to improving readers is to put them on notice that journalists, like it or not, come with their own points-of-view. Thank you for being up front about this. It is a necessary first step.
You've made me think. I may ask you at some point about using some of your comment, if that's all right. I am a reader too, but I have long been told off by readers that I can't ask for discernment.
Please feel free to use any of my comment whenever you like.
I'm curious: Brits know what they're getting when they choose The Telegraph over The Guardian or vice-versa, and some read both to be better informed. Are we really less capable than they, or is the furor over journalist objectivity a convenient way to attack viewpoints we don't like?
And does a biased article really change minds, or is it choir-preaching? In law school, they told us that to be really persuasive we should avoid drawing conclusions for the jury. That is, it is far more effective to lay out the facts in a very deliberate and seemingly-objective manner, leading undecided jurors step by step in the direction you want them to go but letting them take the final step on their own. In that way, they will feel ownership of the conclusion and will advocate for it during deliberations. That would seem to mean that the most dangerous articles are the seemingly unbiased ones.
Exactly. There is always bias but it's only insidious when you try to hide it. Transparency is far more important than "objectivity."
In general, with few exceptions, the media reporting during the Trump presidency was horrific. In striving for neutrality, they left the country defenseless in the face of incessant propaganda. By normalizing Trump, his open bigotry, absurd incompetence, and brazen gaslighting, they allowed the right-wing narrative to grow with minimal pushback. Those journalists who retained their jobs by playing the 'both sides' game or refusing to acknowledge the 5-alarm fire when it could have been mitigated, seem to have few ethical issues with publishing damning exposes now that it's far too late to save our democracy. I had thought that the instinct for self-preservation would have kicked in, since the GOP will quickly move to stifle dissenting media voices once they take control of Congress next year. Tim Alberta is warning of the incessant talk about an imminent civil war amongst everyday Republicans. His warnings in 2015 that Trump would win the 2016 elections were largely ignored by mainstream media. They are now ignoring his warnings about the level of civil unrest about to reign down, and once again MSM is AWOL. We don't need neutral note-takers, we need journalistic warriors to prepare this country for what we are about to face.
As the person that watched you grow up and mature, I knew that at a very early age you had opinions and were very quick to voice them. Your continued search for veracity was the driving force and has been your mantra throughout your life. Unfortunately, as you stated, the line between “biased” truth and outright “biased” lies has been crossed far too often and the difference has been lost to most of the public.
Great article. More like it are needed.
oooh, you called me "mature"! can't go back on that now!
Sometimes we make mistakes.
Great piece, thanks!
The reason I subscribe to your substack and love your journalism is because of that bias! Thank you!
Dear MS Wolfe
Before I make my comments I too will disclose a summary of my worldview. In the 2016 election P refused tp vote for president because the choice was between the crooked dragon lady and the rich street urich who was very much like the urichs that I grew up with. Since I thought that dragon lady would win I voted for a congress of the other party. In 2020 I did not vote for president because it was choice between the street urich on steroids verus the part of nation that hates people like me and sees nothing wrong with antifa. My view of Mr. Trump is that he fulfilled all my expectations good and bad. He expoentially grew the internal fighting with a modest amount of success ubtik covid-19 for which he was a total failure,.
I am old enough to remember the walter cronkile / edward R Murrow generation pf jpurnalism. It was the finest example of journalism in world history. These people had a point of view but rarely reflected it their work. They were very fair in which stories to cover, how they covered the
story, what facts came first, what facts came last, and what facts are ignored. Today I do not find any news coverage fair and balanced. Today Journalism fulfills the words of the philosopher Martin Buber. Journalism is the lowest form of truth. You are wrong bias journalist does a poor job.
Thanks for this.