Title: The Medias Objectivity Fetish
1The Medias Objectivity Fetish
- When does the story end and real life begin?
Doug Nairne JSMC6002 Feb. 25, 2003
2Two perspectives on war.
As a journalist
As a soldier
Covered wars in Bosnia (1994) Rwanda (1995)
Central America (1998)
Peacekeeping in Croatia, 1992
3Mike Wallace
- You are only there to cover a story.
- You have no higher duty to your country or to
your fellow man. - Your only role is to document events.
- You are not a human, you are a reporter.
4Peter Jennings
- You should warn the Americans.
- "I do not think that I could bring myself to
participate in that act. That's purely personal,
and other reporters might have a different
reaction." - On second thought, said he agreed with Wallace
5What were they really talking about?
- The need to be objective.
- A journalist should cover the story, not be part
of the story. - Or perhaps Wallace was just mugging for the
cameras and putting on a show for the audience. - We are supposed to be accountable to our readers
and viewers, but would most people agree with
Wallace? -
6Wallace was wrong.
- The ethic he was defending was sound, the
situation he applied it to was not. - Ethics are guidelines, not absolutes. The
situation dictates the right thing to do. - Whose values are we protecting? Our communitys?
Or has the medias self-obsession alienated us
from what our readers want?
7If you agree will Wallace, consider these
situations
- You are covering a bus accident and arrive on
the scene before the emergency medical crews get
there. - What do you go for first Your first aid kit or
your camera? - Do you help the injured or interview them?
- What kind of legal and ethical issues arise if
someone dies when you could have saved them?
8Consider these situations
- You are covering an event on a boat and you see a
small child fall overboard. - Do you jump in the water to save them?
- Do you wait and see if someone else jumps in and
get a great hero story? - Do you immediately run over to the parents and
get the exclusive on how they feel about their
about-to-be drowned child?
9Consider these situations
- You find out that terrorists are planning to
bomb the Bank of China building in one hour. - Do you warn the police?
- Do you sell your BoC stock?
- Do you get your cameras in position to cover the
explosion? - What if your wife or husband works in the
building?
10There is a common theme.
- In each of these cases a line is crossed where
our role changes from dispassionate observer to
being a citizen. Reasonable people will see a
clear right and wrong answer. - We cannot completely separate ourselves from our
communities and hope to produce journalism that
reflects them. -
11Can we ever completely separate ourselves from
the story?
- Heisenberg effect the act of observing the
system causes the system to change. Camera and
reporters will cause people to change their
behaviour. - We often influence the story just by being there
so the idea that we can ever just be observers is
false.
12How do other journos view Wallace?
- These TV anchors could use another visit to
Ground Zero to contemplate whether the killers
deserve journalistic neutrality. -- Brent
Bozell, president, Media Research Centre. - In times of war, journalists are not supposed to
be neutral. They are supposed to be objective.
They are supposed to cover developments fairly
and accurately, convey information honestly, and
report what is relevant. -- Jeff Jacoby, Boston
Globe Columnist
13- "We are loath to keep anything from our readers
but when people's lives are at stake, what's to
debate? You wait. -- Walter Lundy of the St.
Paul Pioneer Press. - Mike Wallace on patrol with the North
Kosanese, cameras rolling while his countrymen
are gunned down, recognizing no "higher duty" to
interfere in any way and offering no rationale
beyond "I'm with the press" - this is a nice
symbol for what Americans hate about their media
establishment in our age. James Fallows,
Breaking the News, How the Media Undermine
American Democracy.
14- There is an ethical obligation to make sure
you are not withholding certain information that
could, if not revealed or refused to authorities,
cause great harm to others. Bob Steele,
director of the ethics program at the Poynter
Institute.
15A more reasonable approach.
- Responsible journalism recognizes that reporters
are people first. We have moral obligations
beyond our craft. - Our readers expect us to reflect their values as
well as our own. - Being objective when reporting war is not the
same as being neutral.
16Accomplished war correspondents Ernie Pyle
- The writing that earned Ernie Pyle a Pulitzer
Prize in 1944 would have gotten him fired today.
There will be no 21st century Ernie Pyles in our
war on terrorism because modern journalists
wouldn't be caught dead in a foxhole, wearing a
military uniform, bravely recording and
communicating the hopes, fears, dreams, anger and
pride of the American soldier. Oh, no. That might
give -- heaven forbid -- the wrong impression.
-- Michelle Malkin, American Journalisms True
Colors, Oct 3, 2001, www.TownHall.com
17Wallace typified what people hate about the media.
- Moral arrogance.
- Uncaring and insensitive.
- Lack of respect for others, even those involved
in personal tragedy. - Insults viewer intelligence.
- Competition more important than people or truth.
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