Comments on: The Sham That Is 'Objective' Corporate Journalism http://www.fair.org/blog/2009/05/01/the-sham-that-is-objective-corporate-journalism/ The national media watch group Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:31:47 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: puente http://www.fair.org/blog/2009/05/01/the-sham-that-is-objective-corporate-journalism/comment-page-1/#comment-3785 puente Fri, 01 May 2009 17:16:22 +0000 http://www.fair.org/blog/?p=8506#comment-3785 Unfortunately, this problem isn't limited to big corporate news. I live in a rural community with two competing weekly papers. A friend of mine is a stringer for one of them and she spoke of an assignment she had to write about a local airport. She actually said, "I don't feel very confident about this because I don't have an opinion either way on it." I said to her, "That's good." "No it's not," she said. "If you have no opinion about it then you will be more objective in your article." "Whatever." Did I mention that this woman is a HUGE fan of Fox News? What hope does the next generation of journalists have if the examples they see in "professional" journalism don't subscribe to the basic tenets of objective reporting? Unfortunately, this problem isn't limited to big corporate news. I live in a rural community with two competing weekly papers.

A friend of mine is a stringer for one of them and she spoke of an assignment she had to write about a local airport. She actually said, "I don't feel very confident about this because I don't have an opinion either way on it."

I said to her, "That's good."

"No it's not," she said.

"If you have no opinion about it then you will be more objective in your article."

"Whatever."

Did I mention that this woman is a HUGE fan of Fox News?

What hope does the next generation of journalists have if the examples they see in "professional" journalism don't subscribe to the basic tenets of objective reporting?

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