Introduction; or, a manifesto
For someone who’s blogging about point of view in the media, I should do what I can to communicate my own point of view. First of all, I find newspapers and other types of news media vital to my world. I read newspapers and news web sites every day. They are where I learn much of what I need to do my job, make decisions for myself and my family, and to be more informed.
The value of television (network and cable) news is diminishing rapidly, spiraling down to the “crisis” of the moment stories. Perhaps that’s a conversation for another day.
As useful as the media are—especially, to me, papers like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and my local paper, the Patriot News of Harrisburg, PA (a pretty good paper), and their associated web sites—the desperate clinging to the claim of objectivity has always felt a bit odd.
Are these reporters robots? Are their editors? They are looking for stories, aren’t they? A simple agglomeration of undisputed facts wouldn’t get a lot of people to subscribe, never mind buy off the newsstand. Haven’t some of the most significant accomplishments of American newspapers been the result of a single-minded pursuit of a story?
And doesn’t a story need a point of view?
Here’s a question to chew on. Is there such a thing as an objective point of view?
Discuss amongst yourselves. Or post reactions below.
posted by Unknown @ 4/26/2006 12:41:00 PM
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