Winston: “How many fingers?” —O’Brien in 1984
Media figures often love to profess their “objectivity.” Few people believe this absurd claim, just as Chuck Todd once claimed he was only a “referee.” A major journalism foundation, Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism published, via its NeimanLab, a plea for objectivity to be replaced by “solidarity for justice.” The author is Dr. Anita Varma, assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin.
This is Varma’s hatred for objectivity and support of social justice greater goods. It sounds like something out of Orwell.
In recent discussions about the transformation of journalism, objectivity is often given a strangely free pass. The argument tends to go like this: “Journalistic objectivity has been implemented in ways that are not actually objective, but striving for genuine objectivity is still the best hope we have for accurate reporting.”
Problem with this argument? It overlooks the inherent flaws in objectivity. Journalism moves in the right direction when there is solidarity for social justice.
…Journalism that seeks objectivity to solve uncertainty is a distraction from its purpose as public service. Why? Because the concept of objectivity isn’t compatible with the pragmatics of news reporting.
…Journalism is dead if it tries to be objective.A method or ideal for solidarity in social justice, on the other hand is much closer to what great journalists always attempted to do: Inform the public about important issues, hold the institutions responsible, challenge society and urge us to take care of more than ourselves.
Wow! Varma sounds like she’s channeling O’Brien to journalists.
Varma finishes up by celebrating that those few journalists who still strive for objectivity will soon be replaced by the “social justice” warriors in order to achieve “transformational change” as we enter the Brave New World of 2022.
Ultimately, rising news leaders and inclusive initiatives will push to replace people and organizations that cling to a vision of journalistic objectivity which has never been achievable or desirable, has never served the public, and has repeatedly proven itself to be a waste of shrinking resources in the face of social injustice that denies people’s basic humanity. A new generation of news leaders is taking the reins, and solidarity will have a chance.
Anybody who has worked on solidarity initiatives for social justice will know that it is difficult to achieve lasting, transformational changes. We will continue fighting for the best in 2022.
It is possible that Varma will send students and professors at University of Texas School of Journalism and Media to Room 101 to learn from her premise on letting go of objectivity. Her view of journalism is very much in fashion today, both within mainstream media and at journalism foundations.
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