The Medias Objectivity Fetish

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The Medias Objectivity Fetish

• When does the story end and real life begin?

Doug Nairne JSMC6002 Feb. 25, 2003
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Two perspectives on war.
As a journalist
As a soldier
Covered wars in Bosnia (1994) Rwanda (1995)
Central America (1998)
Peacekeeping in Croatia, 1992
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Mike 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.

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Peter 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

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What 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?

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Wallace 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?

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If 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?

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Consider 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?

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Consider 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?

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There 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.

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Can 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.

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How 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

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• "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.

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• 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.

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A 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.

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Accomplished 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

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Wallace 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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