Michael Arrington (of TechCrunch) got me thinking. “Human interaction is simply too complex to pretend that we are all objective.”…he was quoted saying in Wired’s latest edition…in an article by Fred Vogelstein.
Arrington runs TechCrunch…a site that blogs tech reviews and start-ups. (More about that.)
I agree. There’s no such thing as objective reporting. There aren’t two sides to every story–there are as many sides as there are people who are part of the “story.” And journalists (perhaps more than most) are some of the most opinionated people I know (which also makes them more interesting…though some can be absolute pompous snobs too…terrible for cocktail party chatter!). So they shouldn’t pretend they don’t have an opinion. In fact, knowing the opinion can add to the story…another element…a point-of-view. And to me, there’s no absolute truth, only perspectives.
Pretending to be objective is more of a threat to the truth and your ability to report, then simply admitting up front that you have an opinion, bias, interest…or whatever it was you have. I think newspapers should state on the corner of their front page the editorial “leaning” of the paper. Be up front about it. At least then we’d know where you were coming from.
I think the rise of citizen journalism, and people’s approach to disclosing conflicts of interest will eventually pervade traditional media practices too. I’m looking forward to this. I think it’ll be healthier and much more honest….which of course, is the pursuit of all good journalism. (Whether truth exists or not.)
