Does jJournalism Still Require Impartiality?

[icyfroth]

If you think of the names that have created the biggest buzz in the media world in the past few years – blogger/journalist Glenn Greenwald, data guru Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight, Julian Assange of Wikileaks, and now the increasingly popular lo-fi documentary makers at Vice News – they have one thing in common.

These are story-tellers for a digital age that come less from the tradition of straight, impartial news gathering and instead embrace a new style of journalism which favours transparency, strong analysis, opinion, a subjective standpoint, and at times, flat-out advocacy for one side of a debate.

But journalists must still tread with caution here. Transparency alone is not a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Tom Kent of Associated Press has wisely warned against discarding impartiality as “easy roadkill in the rush to new journalism techniques”. Transparency must still be coupled with the hallmarks of solid journalism: checking facts, attributing accurately, uncovering new information, and exposing falsehoods.

Entire Article Here

 I enjoy reading an opinion piece but I prefer my news unbiased.

[punch*drunk]

I think they have to be biased nowdays to get people to read them, people only want to read something that reinforces their point of view. This board has become a perfect example, the Lib supporters post articles that back up their opinions and the Labor supporters follow up with the same topic with a different slant (or vice versa).

It still astounds me that any one group can think that everything their "side" does is right and the other "side" is completely wrong.

If the articles were impartial they'd probably be discounted as irrelevant by both sides and that wouldnt sell newspapers or get ratings.

[lightningdance]

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@am*3 wrote:
The Daily Telegraph publishes very little 'real' news, I have noticed that.

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My whole post was addressing News Readers on TV.

[lightningdance]

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@punch*drunk wrote:

I think they have to be biased nowdays to get people to read them, people only want to read something that reinforces their point of view. This board has become a perfect example, the Lib supporters post articles that back up their opinions and the Labor supporters follow up with the same topic with a different slant (or vice versa).

It still astounds me that any one group can think that everything their "side" does is right and the other "side" is completely wrong.

If the articles were impartial they'd probably be discounted as irrelevant by both sides and that wouldnt sell newspapers or get ratings.

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I agree, nobody want to be influenced by newsreaders and we expect our print media to truthfully report news and politics without a slant either way.

The whole system has been corrupted since the 24 hour news cycle was foisted on the world by CNN (chicken noodle news) and now all media have scrambled to join in.

Frankly, I don't watch that much TV news anymore, even Sky is rife with opinionated presenters even though they try to put out that they are fair and unbiased, it shows through by the commentators they invite on to reinforce one side or another.

We saw the complete corruption of the politic by Rudd who was totally enamoured by TV and the 24 hour cycle to the extent that he ran  24 hour focus groups  to test the political landscape then tailored his numerous appearance's to their results.

In the end we all got tired just seeing him on TV every day promoting himself whilst the country went to hell.

[karliandjacko]

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@icyfroth wrote:

Pretty cool, the way it does that, isn't it? I wish it would change itself in the thread title as well.

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Yeah, it's gone slightly crazy this morning.  Am must be tricking us and correcting the title in her replies  😄

[cherry*135]

🙂

am*3 wrote:
"The Daily Telegraph publishes very little 'real' news, I have noticed that."


Disclaimer: this post of mine was not connected in anyway with anyone else's post.

[lightningdance]

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@am*3 wrote:
🙂

@am*3 wrote:
"The Daily Telegraph publishes very little 'real' news, I have noticed that."


Disclaimer: this post of mine was not connected in anyway with anyone else's post.

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uh...OK

[cherry*135]

Actually, in my opinion, all News Corp publications are biased.

[boris1gary]

this from 2 of the abbotts biggest fans in Fairfax....kind of puts the question of bias in journalism to the back of the queue

For instance, the prime minister's office decided to leak to The Daily Telegraph details of a decision on counter-terrorism by the national security committee of cabinet last month before it had gone to the full cabinet.

Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/abbott-unmasked-ideological-warrior-marches-to-the-right-201...

This was evident in Abbott's decision this week to grant some Canberra correspondents an anniversary interview while pointedly denying it to others - a clear breach of an established convention around such milestone moments.

Access to the highest office in the land is now a currency – a tool of control, to be extended or withheld according to political compliance.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/mixed-report-card-on-tony-abbotts-first-ann...

[boris1gary]

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@am*3 wrote:
Actually, in my opinion, all News Corp publications are biased.

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the unaustralian and the telesmear are beyond bias, blatant lies are often printed - just look at the campaign against Labor leading up to the election. Both are more like newsletters for the LNP, lacking in fact but big on scare and smear campaigns.   

[cherry*135]

That was a good article.

Not very clever:

"Again, there seemed to be an excess of politics in the Prime Minister's decision to announce last week that the government had set up new counter-terrorism units at Sydney and Melbourne airports to seek out would-be jihadists.

Another 80 officers soon would be deployed to establish similar units at other airports, he told the House. To anyone planning to leave to join the Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, this would have been a helpful tip to direct them to Brisbane or Adelaide airport."