Deborah presented this picture on Facebook, and I loved that it really examined the exact issue I'm having trouble thinking about:
This picture, both parts from Fox, takes the same issue and attempts to present the news to two different audiences. Words are powerful--perhaps too powerful and the media has a need to present the news using words that are unbiased...at least that's what we're told. Would it be better to come out and say the paper or news outlet has an innate bias?
In countries that are totally taken over by government regulations, how is media controlled? How do journalists go about their jobs in an environment like that?
On a personal level, I strive to be unbiased, but bias is innate--we all have an opinion and how we go about telling a story shows our opinion--our words can bring about opinion. Heck, just the title of a story can suggest bias--even if the story is unbiased--perhaps that was the issue related to the picture above.
Jamie Nusbaum
Sheboygan North HS
Sheboygan, Wis.
I appreciated Mr. Gillmor for saying that he doesn't think objectivity is possible. I agree, and as adviser for our paper these past two years, I've struggled with letting stories run when they contradict my values as a die-hard Southern Baptist. I have to keep telling myself that this isn't my paper--it belongs to the students.
ReplyDeleteDonna Owen
I, too, was happy to hear Mr. Gillmor talk about bias as an impossible goal to achieve. I admit that I have biases and so do my students. The overall slant of our newspaper is in favor of our school, although I know plenty of people who also have negative things to say about it. The thing is, everybody knows it slants that way and it's okay. I don't always agree with the stuff my students choose to put in their stories or their paper, but Donna is right: It's not my paper--it belongs to the students.
ReplyDeleteRyan Peacock
Tooele High School
Tooele, Utah