MEDIA -- magazine of the Canadian Association of
Journalists - Winter 2006 issue
The impossibility of objectivity
Feroza Master thought objectivity was obtainable
that is, until she went to study in England
Same-sex marriage. Gay bishops. Decline of your
own religion.
These are topics that may make some journalists
salivate at the thought of instant frontpage bylines.
For those who are religious, or for those who have
opinions for or against the issue, it strikes them in
the gut. People carry a lifetime of experiences that
shape their thoughts. Each individual also has
opinions on many controversial issues. Some people
have a religion. Others do not. But everyone has
morals. And whether we like it or not, journalists
have to report on these issues.The question is,how do
we do this to the best of our ability?
I think reporters in this country are too focused
on objectivity and balance. All you end up seeing in
the papers is what each side says about an issue. And
they ignore what the citizen says. For example, in an
article published on July 21 by the National Post
about the same-sex marriage bill becoming law, it
began with the bill being signed. Then they report on
politicians who support the law, and those who are
against it, and if the law would ever be repealed.
Then it ends with statistics on what the Canadian
population thinks.According to the article: "A public
opinion poll earlier this week suggested 55 per cent
of Canadians would not want the law repealed." But
there are no opinions from Canadians themselves. If a
reporter not necessarily the author of the article
in question were to ask him or herself what they
thought of the issue if they were for or against it
and then asked themselves their reasons,wouldn't
they realize that other people in the country were
going through the same thought process? Would the
citizen want to see that reflected in the media? Why
wasn't it reported?
I didn't always think this way.
Based on my education in Canada, I was taught
that journalists believe in objectivity and balance.
They believe they can erase their opinions from their
articles and write about issues without any personal
opinion ever touching the black-andwhite page, or
hitting the airwaves.
My professors always lectured that objectivity
was something that can be attainable. Balance, they
argued, is important because we must report all sides
of the story in order to give an accurate account of
events. In fact, all journalists should strive to
achieve objectivity and balance in every story. I took
these lessons into the workplace. Whenever I sat down
to write my script for a TV story, I would ask myself:
"Am I objective? Have I balanced my story?"
By doing so I thought I was doing my job. It
wasn't until many months later that my way of thinking
was blown out of the water. I wasn't satisfied with
staying in Canada. I felt as a journalist I should
spread my wings and experience other parts of the
world. I went to London to get my masters degree in
international journalism.
A professor with spiky white hair and square
glasses taught one of my first classes.He grabbed a
red dry-erase marker and scrawled the word
"objectivity" on the centre of the whiteboard. He
underlined it several times and asked us, "What does
this word mean to you?"
"To be impartial," one student replied.
"To represent all sides of the story," another
answered.
I raised my hand and said, "It's what a
journalist should ultimately strive to achieve in
every story."
My professor was silent. He looked about over the
class and shook his head.
He replied, "Every year I ask this. Every year I
get the same answers from you. It doesn't matter where
you are from.You want the answer? Let me tell you the
ones you gave me were wrong, wrong and wrong."
My stomach did a bit of a back flip. I felt like
my world was caving in around me.How is objectivity
not important to a journalist?
The professor continued, "Objectivity in
journalism is rubbish. It is impossible to attain. And
add to the list the concept of balance."
I was stunned. I looked about the room. My
classmates were also surprised. Four years of
journalism school in Canada told me that objectivity
is the one thing...the THING to achieve. And now all
of a sudden it means nothing? And balance
representing all sides of the story that is also
unattainable? Then what does a journalist do? I was
gobsmacked. But as my professor began to explain his
argument, it made sense.
He said many journalists have morals and
opinions. Some also follow a religion. Morals,
opinions and the teachings of a religion have been
accumulated over a lifetime. These experiences form
the way a person thinks. Like it or not, a person has
an opinion on a subject. It is impossible not to have
opinions on anything.And no one can just push all
thought aside. Thoughts and opinions are a part of a
person's mindset. Religion and morality are even more
ingrained into the psyche. They form what a person is.
How can someone just push aside everything they
believe in and dealt with in life and suddenly become
objective? In other words, a blank mind full of fact
and no opinion with little to write but what various
people have to say about an issue. Sure, some of you
reading this would think it is possible. Some of you
may think, "Hey, kid. I don't know what you're talking
about, but I've been doing that for years!"
You may think you're an expert at it. I don't
believe you. Just because a reporter does not clearly
state their opinion in an article, it will still
always be there. It's in the way you structure your
article. Every step you take in the
informationgathering process is subjective.You decide
whom to interview. You decide where their quotes will
appear in your story. You decide where you get your
facts. And like it or not, your opinion of the story
or issue you are writing about will effect the way you
write your story.You decide who appears first in the
story.You choose the quotes, the facts, and the angle.
It's a subjective process.
So objectivity is impossible.
As for balance, how do you know there are only
two or three sides to the story? There could be
multiple sides. One cannot go and get all sides of a
story. And, if a reporter were to give equal weight to
two sides of a story, what if one side does not have
more merit than the other? It would not be truthful to
give both equal weight. For example, if a majority of
scientists believe the next flu pandemic is
inevitable, it would not be fair to report scientists
as being equally split on the issue.
Throughout my undergraduate degree, I was
fascinated with the population decline and possible
extinction of my religion,Zoroastrianism* in India and
how it affected members of the religion around the
world. I wrote many stories about it. I would push
aside my own opinions and report the facts -what the
Indian census said, what UNESCO says, what
Zoroastrians themselves say. Some believed the decline
was real. Others did not. I reported the opinions of
both sides and decided to let the readers decide for
themselves what to believe. But after my professor in
London made his point, I decided to write about the
same topic again.Before I sat down to write anything,
I asked myself what I thought of the issue. I found
out that I believe the decline is real and I think it
is sad. Then I looked back on all my other articles
from undergrad. I realized that though I had not
written down my opinions in my articles, the way I
structured the story revealed my opinion. I would
start out with a quote from a Zoroastrian who was
upset about the decline. Then I would give the Indian
census numbers.Then I would have quotes from UNESCO
and priests. And then for the second half of the story
I had quotes from people who thought the decline was
not real. I looked at newspapers and asked myself why
other journalists wrote their articles in the order
that they did. Was it the inverted pyramid that made
them write it the way they did,or was it what their
subconscious believed was most important?
Before writing another article, I told myself,
"Okay, this is what I believe. Now I am aware of
it. Let me look back at what information I have
gathered."
My professor also said that a journalist should
try to attain fairness. Not fairness to sources, but
to the citizen.A journalist must adhere to the facts
and make sure the citizen understands them. If it's
true that most scientists believe a pandemic is
inevitable, then report that.
As for my article about Zoroastrianism, I thought
the way I could be fair is to look at the issue of why
some people do not believe the decline is real. I dug
a little deeper. I discovered that the census numbers
were not that reliable and a lot of Zoroastrians leave
India for other countries. I then looked at the census
of those countries. I discovered while there is a
slight population decline, most people have just moved
away from India.
Through this experience, I discovered that the
concept of fairness lets us get to the ultimate goal:
to know the facts, accurately report them and verify
them. To do this,my professor said the best journalist
is the one who acknowledges their opinions, their
morals, their ethics and their religion.
Before you begin working on a story, you ask
yourself where you stand on all the issues. have to
ask yourself whether you agree or with what your
interviewees are saying. to know your opinions on
issues and think the way you do. Only then can you of
how your opinions could shape your story. then when
you are fully aware of your thoughts, then look at the
facts.Ask yourself the citizen would want to know.
Only then person attack a story that hits close to
home.
Feroza Master is a news reporter for Calgary. She
has also worked at the Calgary and CTV News in Ottawa.
She has a masters in international journalism from
City University London, England, and a bachelor degree
journalism from Carleton University.
* Zoroastrianism is an ancient Iranian faith that was
the religion of the Persian Empire until the Arab
Invasion of 660 A.D.
Zoroastrians are mostly found in Iran and India.
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