When I was in journalism school, objectivity was slowly and steadily thumped into my head, but there wasn’t a whole lot of discussion about what the word means. Does it mean I don’t get an opinion? Do I get one but am I not allowed to share it in public or in print?
For years, this debate has been circulating the mythical halls of journalism – especially in the era of Fox News and personal and professional blogging.
In various reporting jobs, I’ve had to remove a partisan bumper sticker from my car, candidate’s sign from my house and I once got the stink eye from an editor for opining about a local politico to coworkers at a Christmas party.
Objectivity is a good goal, but I’ve always thought the more important word is fairness. It’s not fair to present one side of the story without another. To fail to do so would be slanted and bad journalism. But as a professor once said, it’s easier to make a news report compelling if you aren’t attempting to make it balanced.
While I maintain reporters are first and foremost people – a fact oft forgotten when angry readers disparage “the media” – and therefore are entitled to and should have opinions, I digress.
This is not an issue of free speech. This is an issue of a news page versus the Opinion Page. The proposed Cowlitz casino is a hot-button issue in Southwest Washington, in and out of the business community.
Charity Thompson’s Page 1 story about the casino in our April 18 issue was a jumping off point for the VBJ. It has been some time since we’ve looked in-depth at the issue and it was by no means the final word in the matter. Since the story ran, we have had several conversations about where to go next and we’re curious how and if the proposed project will affect your business.
It is a reporter’s job to report what people are saying – or at least what they’re willing to say on the record.
Whatever our staff’s personal feelings about the potential casino, they will never show up on a news page, and that’s a good thing. As the issue gets more formative, look to this page for our thoughts – we’re always excited to hear yours.
