Week 8: “Objectivity and the News”

Thank you students for following the continuing Ukraine Invasion news story and relating it to important media concepts.  Let’s see how long the terrors of Ukraine stay on the “front pages” of the media – as viewers get complacent and just want to move on.  The war, unfortunately, is just getting really really horrific and we need sustained news coverage now more than ever. 

Another important story that is occurring on Live TV is the nomination process of potential Supreme Court Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson.  If confirmed, she will be the first female African American Justice, the first with a background as a Federal Public Defender, and the first with a background in Criminal Defense. In other words, she understands first hand about the injustices of the current criminal justice system and its embedded racism.  As the world can now find out for itself (live on CNN!), she is a remarkable and talented jurist.  At the same time, we see how polarized the nation is in the questioning of her by partisan Senators as well as how her nomination process is being covered in different outlets from MSNBC (on the left) to FOX news (on the right). 

Side Note: The Judiciary (Supreme Court) is one of the three important “checks” in our government (along with the Executive and Legislative Branches). These are also referred to as “Estates.” Journalism is often referred to as the “Fourth Estate” for the important role it plays in the “checks and balances” system to keep our government honest, i.e. “in check.”

While Supreme Court Justices are in the business of making their opinions known on cases before them, it’s interesting that they cannot come across as holding strong “political” views in the nomination process.  This question of objectivity vs. being allowed to freely express one’s opinion in journalism is our next lesson (and preparation for your next formal assignment).

First, let me share what you have said about important media lessons over the last two weeks:

SOCIAL MEDIA AND FAKE NEWS

The article Javier chose discusses the rise of fake news in social media sources. “In 2019, 8 percent of news sources on social media were dubious. In 2020, that number more than doubled to 17 percent.” Javier writes how “fake news on social media is making political polarization worse in America, and it’s often the case that people no longer agree on even basic facts.” He adds that because news outlets are constantly fighting for clicks, “social media algorithms are often biased toward outrage — they push content that people have an emotional reaction to and are likely to engage with.” This gives an added incentive for news outlets to try to get people upset, often by information that is just made up.

Jenrry also made important comments about how social media not only distributes “fake news” – the news on it is often racist.  “For example, back in 2020 when Covid-19 just started, President Donald Trump made racist comments stating that the Chinese people were the reason for the pandemic. As a result, others started hating and bashing the Chinese people.”

Javier writes of an interesting news story called “Why Ukraine War Misinformation is so Hard to Police”. The article mentions the unique coverage that this war is getting: “a real-time stream of information on social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.” While this helps to drive home how serious the situation is on the ground (as we can see first-hand accounts happening almost live), it also opens the door for severe misinformation, where “clips from video games and scenes from old wars presented as views from Ukraine’s front lines have gone viral alongside legitimate images.” Javier adds that Between false reports of the Poland border being closed and the direct targeting of journalists, misinformation is seriously impacting lives caught in the crossfire of the confrontation.  

On Media Disinformation, Michael Calixto writes “Funny enough, the news sources I follow on YouTube are ABC News, Al Jazeera English, CBS News, CNN, FOX 5, PIX11, The New York Times, and VICE News. How about other people? Apparently, some people only get one news source they can trust. Vox reporter Joss Fong found 40% of republicans only trust Fox News in her report. (Note: The Vox Media company is also guilty of spreading false information as this video shows)” Citing the article Javier also discusses, Michael explains how easy it is to manipulate videos and even make President Zelenksky say “Surrender.”

According to Dominique, The Guardian wrote an article on the topic of TikTok reporting fake news to accounts on the conflict and war between Russia and Ukraine. TikTok is accused of showing falsehoods of information across its social media app. One example is that of the “Ghost of Kyiv” – the shooting down of Russian jets which was actually footage taken from a video game, while real videos from the war were determined to be fake by pro-Russian accounts.

Brandan too covered some interesting topics of Fake News in a Time of War : The article “Social Media In Time Of War: How Jokes And Memes Are Ruling The Information Warfare” speaks on how Gen Z Americans have created humorous memes out of the Ukrainian War. The Ukranians themselves have an incredible (and very funny) sense of dark humor but not all Ukranians were pleased by what they were seeing on social media. One Ukrainian says that:  “seeing such content made and them laughing at the whole situation is making me sad” He also states that “It’s not a “coping mechanism” for people who are living with fear, who lost their beloved ones, who were forced to abandon their hometowns.” As Brandan comments: “On Social Media people are allowed to post mostly anything and this leaves room for memes like this that are very insensitive to the people who are actually losing their lives. It can also stir up a lot of controversy as the people of Ukraine could see these memes and begin to hate us Americans because of the fact that they are in literal war and we are over here making fun of them.” 

IS JOURNALISM DOING ITS JOB?

Not really, says Ines. In the “The Elements of Journalism” we read that journalism’s “first obligation is to the truth” and “its first loyalty is to citizens.” But, according to Ines, “there are many issues not mentioned in the news and media. An example of this are untold stories that the Black Lives Matter movement has had to tell. Black people are being killed and mistreated on a regular basis, but we don’t see all the big media platforms speaking about it.”

For her part, Schear comments that journalists in Western media outlets all too often “keep the truth hidden while revealing bits of information it believes to be beneficial for them. For example, we have the ongoing attacks on Gaza. The media isn’t truthful enough to discuss what’s happening to the innocent lives in Palestine; it downplays the violence that’s being done to the Palestinians. It makes the Israeli’s sound as if they are the ones going through dismay.”  Schear’s points makes me think about how MUCH attention Ukraine is getting – when other acts of international violence do not get so much.

One of Arbi’s many points is that media outlets are not transparent with the public and tend to polarize situations and events instead of offering fair, unbiased coverage. Not only do news outlets fail to report on the corruption of so many of our elected representatives, when they do cover political issues is only from a single perspective.  As Arbi writes, “The media is so polarized these days and is divided into two major camps conservative and liberal (examples of that include Fox News and CNN) Reporting only one side of a story from a very politicized perspective is one “of the reasons why people lose trust in the media and don’t know what is true and what is false. I think a great example of this is the current, highly polarized coverage of the Ketanji Jackson Brown Supreme Court Nomination process.

Kimberly, for her part, points to an important story from The New York Times that shows how some journalists ARE doing their job well: “In “They Died by a Bridge in Ukraine. This Is Their Story” Andrew E. Kramer tells the sad destiny of a Ukrainian family that was trying to escape war but didn’t make it–the sad reality of so many Ukrainian families… This story serves as an example of the power, and influence that the press has in informing citizens, in showing a reliable and fair story. This news story also serves as an example of the freedom that the press has, at least in this country, to showcase and cover news stories about events that are currently happening (which couldn’t happen in Russia).”

Ling Mei, in addition to a fascinating discussion of how a person who was hurt by a dog used social media to share her story, also offered a news article about the current state of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, whose residents have refused to give in to Russia’s demand to surrender. As she writes, “this news was covered well” and is very moving.

Alvaro chose to talk about the article  “I’m ready for negotiations’ with Putin, but if they fail, it could mean a third World War“. It talks about how Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, is hoping to have direct talks with Vladimir Putin in order to possibly end the terror that’s been going on for the past several weeks in Ukraine. The article itself is an example of press freedom. “At the end of the day, Zelensky has every right to say what he wants to say to the American press. At the same time, it’s important to note that articles are available to everyone in the free world. Because technology is everywhere, we can stay informed about the Ukraine situation anytime, anywhere.”

JOURNALISM CRACKDOWNS IN RUSSIA AND ELSEWHERE

As a class, we have discussed the importance of a free press but Nasrine makes clear that authoritarian regimes such as Russia clamp down on press freedoms as much as they can.  She cites an article from CNBC by  Dan Mangan called, “New York Times Pulling Journalist from Russia Over Censorship Law Passed After Ukraine Invasion”. Mangan writes about how “the Times began removing their journalists from Russia in response to the Russian president Vladimir Putin who has signed a law that threatens any journalist for covering the Ukraine invasion with up to 15 years in prison if they used the words “war” and “invasion” in their articles to describe what is happening in Ukraine. The law defines any news coverage that says this is a war and invasion as “false information” which is why they have created this law in the first place.”  This is certainly a twist on “Fake News” when real journalism becomes fake and “fake news” becomes truth.

Nasrine also points out that it’s not just Putin that’s guilty of spreading “disinformation.” Like Schear, she writes that while all the world’s eyes are glued on the horrors in Ukraine, where were/are these eyes when there are “constant attacks on what is left of the Palestinian region”??? “I have personally witnessed these attacks on innocent people when I have visited Palestine and have family members who are and continue to be impacted by Israel’s illegal occupation. Seeing how much of the media downplays what really occurs in Palestine saddens me and Putin’s law reminded me exactly of this.” Given such imbalance in media coverage, Nasrine makes the important observation: “it’s up to the public to make the final verdict from what is false and what is the truth.”

Elma also points an interesting article on these issues. “In  “News about the conflict in Ukraine has been different”, former war journalist Janine Zacharia discusses what sets the coverage of the war in Ukraine apart, including the staggering humanitarian crisis unfolding and the possibility that it could escalate into a larger confrontation with a nuclear-armed Russia. Zacharia links the increased coverage to the relatively easy access that reporters have to Ukraine compared to other countries, talks about the important role independent, local media play during wartime, and recounts her personal experiences with the dangers of war reporting. Journalists could easily get into position to cover Ukraine, unlike in 2012 when Anthony Shadid, the preeminent Middle East reporter of our time, died of a fatal asthma attack while trying to leave a covert reporting trip to Syria because reporters weren’t granted visas.

Getting fair coverage of an event is challenging elsewhere in the Middle East. Orlando cites an interesting article which focuses on Jodie Ginsberg who runs an organization out of London that helps protects journalists across the globe that face dangers and harassment.  One example is of a journalist named Mr. Rajab from Bahrain, who was sent to jail after expressing “anti-government dissent on Twitter”.  

In reference to the article on the Russian journalist protesting Fake News out of Moscow, Arbi writes how “we as Americans aren’t aware of how Russians just don’t know what freedom of speech and democracy really are and I can say that because my dad was raised in a formerly Soviet communist country where such freedom did not exist.” It’s important to keep in mind, that with all of our own issues with media coverage, let’s always keep in mind that Americans are “ not at the same point where we have our federal government running the news and controlling everything and silencing those that criticize and speak the truth.” There have been reporters in Russia that have spoken against the government’s action but again consequences are high, and Putin and his companions make sure to get rid of opposing voices as they don’t know, nor do they recognize freedom of speech and democracy. There used to be a saying about the Soviet Union leaders during the cold era which said that the only thing the Soviet leaders did well was print propaganda in newspapers and deliver them to the people. A sad reality which is still true today.  

Taliyah chose to write about an article from The Washington Post called ”In Putin’s Russia, Fake News Now Means Real News” This article talks about how Rus.sia is making it a crime to post what they feel is fake news about the country’s military, The reason they are doing this is that Putin is covering up the real news and having people publish fake news. Putin is trying to take away people’s freedom to speak their minds and take away the right for them to express how they feel about what is going on within their country. The article also explains how the United States made fake news popular and how Trump came along and changed the meaning of fake news to hide the truth of what was going on.” Taliyah closes her post with a truth, I wholeheartedly support:  “We as the United States should have kicked Trump out and threw him in jail when we first found out about the wrongs he did. There is so much our country could have done to be an example to other countries but we didn’t.”

In a similar vein, Sherica Mae discusses “Russia’s outlaws spreading ‘fake news’ about the Russian military with fines and prison” by Al Tompkins. This article discusses how some Russian media outlets, including Dozhd, The Village, and Znak.com, have ceased operations as a result of the new restrictions. According to Tass, a Russian news agency, a new law known as Article 207.3 was recently approved and took effect, declaring that any public dissemination of intentionally false information about the use of the Russian Federation’s Armed Forces would result in three years in prison or a fine of up to 1.5 million rubles.

Chelsie too talks on this topic in her discussion of “Russia fights back in information war with jail warning”  As she writes, “The measures that a country would take to safeguard their government and military forces is brought to light at the expense of the West putting up sanctions so that Russia would potentially put a halt to the invasion. So many questions come to mind. What Russian officials are doing here, as discussed in the article, is stripping their citizens of reliable and accurate information, essentially, eradicating their rights, in order to safeguard the “false” information that is spread about their armed forces.”

Mackenzie eloquently adds to this discussion with a focus on “Truth Is Another Front in Putin’s War.” As she writes, “public perception, and the morale of citizens are a huge part of any war that is fought on any part of the Earth. No matter what side of the war you are on, a person’s beliefs are strong and firm. Times of war are the times when people feel most vulnerable, and thus, less likely to know what to believe. Such fears are taken advantage of. In war, propaganda has also historically and currently been used to change the narrative to fit either side’s objective. The article brings out how Putin has been using propaganda and lies to keep people from protesting the war and invasion – or even describing it as such. He uses lies, and fear of what could happen if they speak of the truth to target those who don’t buy the propaganda. It is interesting how this article also shows how a picture is, indeed, worth a thousand words – but only those words you are led to see. By showing a picture of a woman in front of ruins in Mariupol we see a victim of an atrocity, further proof of the horror that is going on in Ukraine. In Russia, however, posts were removed, with posts with the picture and the word “fake” stamped over it, the narrative being told that the woman faked her injuries. All of this further proves how, while this war is extremely violent and gruesome, it is not just one of weapons, but one of beliefs, and lies as well. We look to the news as a way to know what is going on in the world – we just hope we are looking to the right, most truthful sources.”

Cynthia too talks of Putin’s disinformation campaign in “Truth is another front in Putin’s War” She makes a particularly striking point: “the article explains how disinformation in wartime is as old as war itself, but today war unfolds in the age of social media and digital diplomacy. What is also scary is that when we remember from 1945 to 1989, the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States where it started by a little fire and became a big problem. Let’s just hope that this time “we have more fear than harm”. Well said!!!  Hopefully, quality reporting can keep us all from the brink of WWIII.

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THIS WEEK’S TOPIC AND ASSIGNMENT(S)

“Objectivity and the News”

Given the rise of big media and social media, your opinions–and a heightened critical media literacy–matter now more than ever.

For this week, I ask you to read the views of another important journalist. In the coming weeks, I will want to hear more of what’s on your mind, specifically, in an Op-Ed that you write on an issue that matters greatly to you.

OpEdAssignment

The OpEd, which stands for “opposite the editorial page,” is a short piece of writing typically published by a newspaper, which expresses the opinion of an author not affiliated with the publication’s editorial board. This genre was invented by the New York Times in 1970 and has been a mainstay of most newspapers ever since.   Interestingly, just this year, the Times announced it would now call opinion pieces “Guest Essays” (largely due to the fact that papers are now mostly on-line – i.e. not “opposite” another piece of writing on paper).

The New York Times also now has a Video Op Ed section.

The separation of opinion from the news is also part of the “professionalization” of the news that the New York Times also helped develop.  Since the early 1900s, professional reporters have been asked to be “neutral” and “unbiased” when covering stories.  Today, many in the mainstream media (PBS, NBC News, CNN, etc.) prize neutrality over virtually all other values. Being “neutral” means giving equal credence, focus, and criticism for all sides of an argument, without passing judgment as to the validity of the argument. The “neutral” reporter simply reports what the different sides of a debate assert but does not take a position.  

In 2019, Lewis Raven Wallace (in his book The View From Somewhere ) was one of the first reporters to criticize what he calls “the myth of journalistic objectivity.” To learn why, read his Op-Ed “Objectivity is Dead, and I’m Okay With It”

POST ASSIGNMENT: In a paragraph, respond to one point Wallace makes in his writing that you found interesting and important. Alternately, give a current example that speaks to the danger of journalists being too neutral or far too biased. Post due: Wed. March 30.

Be sure also to email me your completed Student Profile Assignment (mnoonan@citytech.cuny.edu).

Be sure to also check on your Mid-Term Grades on the Gradebook link (to the right).

Lastly, if you have time, please consider attending the Literary Arts Festival this Thursday at 4:30 on Zoom. I will give extra credit for those that do. The Guest Speaker is a powerful Native American Poet who will be reading from her work.

City Tech’s 41st Annual Literary Arts Festival featuring award-winning poet Layli Long Soldier will be held this Thursday, March 24th  at 4:30 pm on Zoom! 

Here is a link to the poet’s biography and some poems.

Free & Open to all! 

Register Here

For more information, see: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/literaryartsfestival/

33 Comments

  1. Ines Bissat

    An interesting point in Wallace’s writing is when he said, “Neutrality isn’t real, neutrality is impossible for me, and you should admit that it is for you, too.” I completely agree with him because being neutral is like saying that you do not care or care to tell the truth. Neutral people are comparable to someone that has no feelings. They do not care about the suffering of others. In addition, having a say on some issues and letting our voices be heard is more important than being neutral. It is only by taking a stance that changes can happen in society. Wallace goes further to say that he is transgender and can never be neutral because, for years, trans people have been silent in fear of being judged or even killed. By speaking up and telling their stories, we can now read in the newspapers, watch the media, and news stories about trans people; That is the power of choosing not to conform with this idea of neutrality. What I also find important in this writing is that Wallace is urging other journalists like him to be “less shameless” and “more raw, more honest” with themselves and the audience. He wants them to speak their truth and give voices to people that do not have the opportunities. Journalists should call people like politicians, people with authority out on their lies, and write about injustice and oppression happening. They should tell the truth about what is going on around the world instead of being quiet and neutral. They should not be afraid of being intimidated by this “male-centric” and falsehood of objectivity. It is only by working together that the journalists can gain the strength to fight against people that try to distract them with their made-up false stories.

    • Mark Noonan

      Thanks for your thoughtful reply on so many of Wallace’s key points, Ines.
      I really like your line that “having a say on some issues and letting our voices be heard is more important than being neutral. It is only by taking a stance that changes can happen in society.” How true!

  2. Kimberly Baez

    Lewis Wallace’s “Objectivity is Dead and I Am Okay With It” touches on a few points about the myth of journalistic objectivity. One point that Wallace made that I found very interesting and truthful is that journalists should always fight back. As the status quo in this country is shifting, journalists should not shift towards the denial of important social, political, and environmental issues. This shifting as Wallace states “will not benefit those in the industry who care about truth-telling and holding power accountable”. A journalist’s job is, to tell the truth, defend and give voice to unrepresented communities, call out those in power when they are doing something wrong, among other things. I agree with this point made by Wallace as journalists have the responsibility of clearly informing the public about what is going on in the world. A journalist should always defend and fight back when the real truth, the real news, and the freedom of speech are being oppressed by power. I see journalism as a representation of freedom of speech, not of oppression, lies, and manipulation. As Wallace states “To call a politician on a lie is our job; to bring stories of the oppressed to life is our job; to represent a cross-section of our communities is our job; to tell the truth in the face of “alternative facts” and routine obscuring is our job…”. I also agree with another statement said by Wallace where those who opposed free speech, and diversity are the enemies of journalism such as certain world leaders who love to manipulate the news.

    • Mark Noonan

      Excellent response to Lewis Wallace, Kimberly.
      I love your line “journalists should always fight back.” It’s too bad too many journalists (and politicians) stay far too silent on matters that demand taking the “right” side.

  3. Orlando Melendez Ramos

    Something that I found interesting In the article “Objectivity is Dead, and I’m Okay With It” written by Wallace is that in his third response when he/she says that ” we can still tell the truth” it shows how other companies or agencies or even the government are trying to silence what has to be said and hide the from the people. He/She also says how being a journalist is becoming even more difficult and even more complex because many journalists get taken out or get killed trying to spread the truth and share all the information that they were able to get or achieve. Many journalists get imprisoned by saying their beliefs and opinions on social media or saying something that the government doesn’t want people to know because they want to hide it and they don’t want the people to know the truth about something so they silence the journalist by either killing them or imprisoning them.

    • Mark Noonan

      Orlando, You hit on a really important point here: the courage of journalists who insist
      on telling the truth. Certainly, the world needs to take seriously whenever a journalist is silenced, here or elsewhere.

  4. Arbi hasa

    While reading Lewis Wallace’s “Objectivity is Dead, and I Am Okay with It” the author makes some points that have interesting significance in today’s world. One point that Wallace made is that journalists have to stand strong firm against various people that call them various names and try to put them down by saying journalists are fake news. As this country is changing day by day, journalists should not be intimidated to move in one direction or the other. Journalists should not follow the path of the refusal of the truth when it comes down to important facts and challenges that our society faces which include economic problems, political movements issues as well as environmental problems that our society is facing. This shifting as Wallace states “will not benefit those in the industry who care about truth-telling and holding power accountable”. A journalist’s job is to report the news to the people and by doing so, to tell the truth as well as support and provide a voice to normal people in various communities, also a journalist’s job is to call out those in power when they are abusing power while they make people pay for it. Telling the truth and reporting it to the people is what journalism is all about and what all journalists should do. A journalist should have the power and dignity to defend the truth, the real news and put an end to the oppression or even corruption by those that are in power that will try to intimidate journalists or lure them into the power these people have. Journalism is freedom of speech and should be represented as such, but it should not be represented as corrupted speech by those in power, or propaganda speech for the people on top controlling the system. As Wallace states “To call a politician on a lie is our job; to bring stories of the oppressed to live is our job…”. Let’s take Putin as an example we have a superpower leader who intimidates and silences those journalists reporting the real news and abuse that Putin does with his power. Some get lured into the power Putin has while some others suffer the consequences of speaking the truth.

    • Mark Noonan

      Very eloquent response to Wallace’s OpEd, Arbi.
      I really like your line that “A journalist should have the power and dignity to defend the truth, the real news and put an end to the oppression or even corruption by those that are in power that will try to intimidate journalists or lure them into the power these people have.” We should have learned our lesson of Putin a while back — now there are extremely serious consequences.

  5. Nasrine Khalil

    One point that Wallace mentioned that I found interesting is when he brought up why a journalist must include their perspective in their articles. Wallace makes mention that journalists must be able to cover news stories and while doing that they must be a voice for those who are suffering. They must take a stance and include their own biases so that this can continue to help raise awareness for the oppressed. Taking a standpoint in articles will help diminish falsehood and show that there is an issue that needs attention. More importantly, this is done for the reader to not believe in a false narrative. One quote by Wallace that explains this is, “I also believe that by claiming these stances, we strengthen our position against those who would try to overwhelm and distract us with make up stories”. I liked that this was mentioned because it made me look at journalism from a different perspective. When a journalist does decide to include their biases, it not only shows the public that there is an issue but there are innocent lives that are suffering because of this.
    On the other hand, when a journalist is biased and takes sides in their articles, it limits the public’s access to objective news. Although Wallace does make a valid point that journalists need to put their input in their articles and defend the truth, however, it may be so that some journalists are taking the side of what is clear to be the oppressor. For example, if there is a conservative journalist who is writing an article and includes news coverage, the journalist will write the article from a conservative perspective. However, a liberal journalist will view that same news coverage from a liberal perspective. Not everyone thinks the same which will make it harder for a journalist to constantly include their perspectives.

    • Mark Noonan

      Very subtle reading of Wallace’s key argument, Nasrine. There certainly is a danger that a reporter will shy from the facts to express his or her viewpoints. At the same time, I think Wallace would agree with you. Facts still matter … it’s just that journalists need to be aware of their own biases and do their best to “speak truth to power.”

  6. Schear

    The Op-Ed “Objectivity is dead, and I’m okay with it,” by Lewis Raven Wallace, is very interesting and concise. It covers all the main points of how the myths of journalistic objectivity exist. The point that I found most important from the Op-Ed is that journalists should fight back. In this specific point lies the truth that some journalists fear to face. Wallace said, “I propose that we need to become more shameless, more raw, more honest with ourselves and our audiences about who we are, and what we are in this for.” This line sums up the fact that journalists in a society are supposed to be the source of truth and there shouldn’t be any amends made in conveying the reality. There is a huge responsibility that journalists have and the only way for them to do a great job is if they uphold the facts and support what is right. Instead of fearing what will happen if they did go against the ones who lie to the world, they should use freedom of speech in their works. This way there will be no sign of deceiving in the world if the whole truth is delivered. Wallace also stated, “But we need to admit that those who oppose free speech, diversity and kindergarten-level fairness are our enemies.” This statement explains the full Op-Ed; objectivity is not in question no more when it comes to journalism. There should be no space of lies to exist within the field of journalism.

    • Mark Noonan

      Very thoughtful reply Schear. Yes, indeed, journalists should always “fight back.”

      You picked a great quote to amplify your point:

      “I propose that we need to become more shameless, more raw, more honest with ourselves and our audiences about who we are, and what we are in this for.”

  7. Javier Inga

    It was genuinely hard to find just one point to discuss in Lewis’ writing (because I really did agree with all his points) but I think the idea of paying special attention to who makes editorial decisions is critically important. While, of course, the writers have the power in deciding how to tell their stories, editors ultimately serve as people who cultivate a culture of storytelling and reporting. Specific pieces can define journalists, but the work of a good editor is shown in how interesting and reliable an entire media outlet can be. With that being said, it is super important to bring in as many diverse perspectives as possible in reporting! Without this diversity, audiences risk missing out on the “uniqueness” and “depth” that Lewis describes. Beyond this, it also makes sense on a financial level for new outlets to try to move beyond the “status quo,” which has historically been limited to “male power and white racism.” By expanding the range of stories, news outlets have a wider range of audiences to tap into their work. And as we all know in the present day, more eyeballs is often followed by more money.

    • Mark Noonan

      Excellent point to focus on Javier. Not only do we need to consider the practices of the journalist, we also need to “pay special attention to who makes editorial decisions.”

      For your next OpEd assignment, consider expanding on this post about the ideal media outlet (maybe citing an examples of this) or perhaps imagining your own ideal outlet (!).

  8. Taliyah Watson

    While reading “Objectivity is dead,and I don’t agree with it” I completely agree when Lewis says “It matters who is making editorial decisions: I think marginalized people, more than ever now, need to be at the table shaping the stories the fact-based news media puts out. I think people crave the honesty, the uniqueness, the depth that comes out of bringing an actual perspective to our work. My experience is that audiences want us to be truthful and fair, but they don’t want us to be robots. And they don’t want us to all be white and male, a situation which creates its own sort of bias toward the status quo, male power and white racism.” because if you want the truth on any matter having to do with what is going on in this world, you’re going to need people that are willing to put out the complete truth. Most people nowadays sugarcoat things that we as people should know considering it will eventually affect us. For example, I feel like everything needs to come out on what is really going on with Russia and Ukraine because whos to say that our country isn’t on their hit list. Some people may not care but they should have the chance to choose whether they would like to know what’s going on in these other countries or not. I also believe that people should have the right to express their feelings on what is going on, better leaders could definitely help make that happen. One danger of a journalist being too biased or too neutral is that they could over-exaggerate a story or downplay a situation which could cause chaos depending on how serious the matter really is. According to “The greatest threat to American journalism: the loss of neutral reporting” They use how reporters are using their opinions instead of facts when reporting news on Trump, what Trump believes in, and whose side he is on. This is an example of how reporters can be biased and forget all about the facts when reporting their findings.

  9. Jenrry Loja

    When reading Lewis Wallace’s “Objectivity is dead, and I’m okay with it” Wallace brought up some great specific points but the one that made me more interested and the important one is number 3 on his few thoughts. Number 3 where he states “We can (and should) still tell the truth and check our facts” is the most important thing a Journalist can do because it can be helpful to the media and it prevents any danger that can happen as people are being notified about daily situations. Wallace brings up a great point when he states checking our facts because it prevents from false claims and news going out to the public and makes sure everything said is true before people go out and start panicking and starting chaos. A danger that a Journalist can face and encounter when being too biased is the start of people against the Journalist and facing much backlash against and or start new thoughts within people such as a strike, hatred, etc.

    • Mark Noonan

      Great point Jenrry. Being sure of facts and be careful not to be too biased are crucial for good reporting.

  10. Elma Kastrat

    In “Objectivity is Dead and I Am Okay With It”, Lewis Wallace tells us some of the myths of the objectivity of journalism. One of Wallace’s points that I found very interesting and true is that journalists must always fight back. Journalists should not rely on denying important social, political and environmental issues as the situation is changing not just in this country, but everywhere in the world. A journalist’s job is not easy and most of the time is based on telling the truth, to protect and give voice to communities that are not displayed, to call people with power when they do something wrong, among others. Lewis is very professional in her job. In her book she also tells us about how being a journalist is even harder and even more complicated because many journalists are disqualified or killed because of trying to spread the truth and share all the information they could get. Many journalists are jailed for speaking out their beliefs and views on social media or for saying something what the government doesn’t like and want people to know because they want to hide information and they don’t want people to know the real truth about something, and to make them stay quiet they decide to kill journalists or imprison them. Journalists must have the power and dignity to defend the truth, the real news, threaten journalists, and even end oppression and corruption by those in power who seek to rule these people. Journalism is free speech and should be presented as such, but it should not be presented as forged speech by a powerful person or as a propaganda speech for the top people who manage the system.

  11. Cynthiagamene

    I found Lewis Raven Wallace very interesting and captivating , in the book “The view from somewhere” we learn a lot of sensitive points of how journalists struggle in their environment. We all knew that being a journalist can be really difficult but I was not ready for what I read in his book. It’s really hard to find only one interesting topic in the book because I found that everything was interesting but if I was to choose one it would be “the line between journalism and activism” , is there a difference?
    In my opinion yes, because journalism is the profession of writing newspapers, magazines, news etc.. in order to inform people, activism is to take action in order to make a change…
    Considering these facts, I think it can make sense what his boss said about the “clear line”, however, firing him like that was unfair. She should have considered the work that he put in his blog and the fact that it was his own experience that he was saying. I think that his blog “Objectivity is Dead and I’m okay with it” was a brave way to tell his truth to whoever wants to hear it. I also think what we should retain is that being a journalist is a difficult job that you have to do everyday because of all the danger and insecurity that comes with it and it’s even harder when you are trangender. People usually think that journalism is free, easy etc…but I think that to really understand it you have to be in it,do the job, to understand the difficulties…

    • Mark Noonan

      Very provocative response Cynthia which calls attention to the many challenges of being a careful reporter hoping to make a better world.

  12. michaelcalixto

    What’s important about Wallace’s “Objectivity is dead, and I’m okay with it” was point 4, “Journalists should fight back”, using a platform to promote opinions. One example is Jeff Seal’s Opinion article “How the Landlord’s Worst Nightmare Could Protect Millions of New Yorkers”.
    https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000008153212/new-york-eviction-bill.html?playlistId=video/opinion
    This statement from Wallance’s article explains how “[Journalists should] become more shameless, more raw, more honest with ourselves and our audience about who we are, and what we are in this for”. Jeff Seal, a video journalist, is trying to promote the “Good cause” eviction bill, which does not allow landlords to evict tenants for no reason “as long you are paying your rent and are an otherwise good tenant, a landlord can’t evict you.”(Seal).
    Seal took the side of the renters instead of being neutral. Seal does ask both sides, renters, and landlords by sharing their perspectives but knows the renters need support for repairs and kick out current renters for higher renters. If you want one news show reporter, who isn’t neutral, take a look at The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Noah and his team have input his opinion on the news on cable television. Especially his report, “Fox News Has a Hard Time Processing the Las Vegas Shooting”, instead of being blank and robotic, adds commentary. Noah is debating with Fox News and not staying neutral and journalists should fight back, point 1 and point 4.
    Lastly, Fletcher Crossman wrote an opinion article in the NYT titled, “Media bias: BBC vs. Fox News: fair and balanced to you, too” quote,
    “The BBC has often been accused of having a liberal bias, and many interpreted its reporting of the Iraq conflict as being antiwar … But however much Fox News feels … that the political right has taken over American’s news media, and that the overt political bias of Fox News … has become a serious obstacle to the fair working of democracy.”(Crossman).

    Noah once said, “You know what I love about American politics is whenever someone in the opposing party says something, there is this weird thing where you immediately have to take the exact opposite position.” I agree with journalists being far too biased. The danger is becoming like what Noah later says about news outlets, “often a propaganda outlet than a news outlet” talking about Fox News.

    • Mark Noonan

      Michael:
      Your post is filled with excellent commentary on Wallace’s points. It also provides cool examples of “activist” journalism as well as the kind that Trevor Noah doesn’t even call news. Very astute (and funny).

  13. Sherica Mae

    Lewis Wallace made many solid points in his piece “Objectivity is Dead and I Am Okay With It,” which I agree with. One point he made that I thought was particularly significant was that journalists should fight back. Wallace states, “I propose that we need to become more shameless, more raw, more honest with ourselves and our audiences about who we are, and what we are in this for.” This is a crucial notion since journalism is all about delivering people the information they need to make the best decisions possible regarding their lives, communities, and government. Even the difficulty of being a journalist including the risk of being arrested, fired or even killed just by doing their job of informing the people of real news and events or siding with what’s right. It is essential for journalists to provide an unbiased perspective on factual news or narratives about real events that is truthful to the public, as well as to be the voice of those who aren’t being heard and to speak out the lies who oppress free speech tell the public.

    • Mark Noonan

      Excellent reply Sherica. Journalists do need to “fight back” with passion and facts– now more than ever.

  14. Enson Zhou

    One thing that Wallace said that I completely agree with in his op-ed piece is he said “And they don’t want us to all be white and male, a situation which creates its own sort of bias toward the status quo, male power, and white racism.” I feel like in my opinion many of the news articles that you read in today’s society are written from the point of view of a white person. You rarely ever hear new articles in which colored people were the main characters and not the villains. They usually tend to take sides with the whites compared to the colored people. An example of this was the Black Lives Matter protests back in August 2020. The news media was on top of their game with covering all the protests, but as soon as the protests started dying down, the media just stops covering the situation. Not only did the coverage of the situation stop suddenly, but when filming the protests, the news media team mostly focused on all the negatives of the protest like the looting. In an online article the writer says” On balance, Americans say too much news coverage has focused on acts of violence during protests, too little on nonviolent protests.” This just proves that the media are more focused on the negatives of a situation rather than the positives. Overall, Wallace did a really good job of bringing attention to the flaws that occur within the news media section.

    https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2020/06/12/majorities-of-americans-say-news-coverage-of-george-floyd-protests-has-been-good-trumps-public-message-wrong/

    • Mark Noonan

      Enson,

      You bring up a really important point here that Wallace too is committed to: white bias in the media. This would make a really great OpEd assignment (Unit #2) by the way, which will be due in a few weeks. Let me know if this topic interests you and we can speak more about it.

  15. Ashley

    After reading the article by Wallace, I was truly intrigued and fascinated as well. A majority of the things that was said, was interesting to me, however I admired his line speaking that journalists should fight back. I believe that the freedom that we’re given is often so limited without recognition. More than ever, journalists have been fearful and facing violence for chasing their passion. He also mentions that instead of waiting and seeing, that a change should happen. I completely agree with his statement. Journalists are getting arrested, murdered, etc. and it is not spoken about as commonly as it should be. I personally believe that people often forget that journalists essential to our lives as they are one of the sources we utilize daily to receive news and understand whats happening in the world. We rely on their work and bravery to put themselves into situations to provide the world with information. It should be more alarming that journalists are oppressed from delivering the truth to the media. Wallace mentions that “to bring stories of the oppressed to life is our job”, and it’s only fair if people do the same for them being that they are also oppressed. The truth told by journalists are seen to be “biased” when they’re aspiring to tell the truth and be unbiased, leaving the truth to be flawed. An example that can be used is the news from the Ukraine Russia war. Pictures of attacks on Ukraine are being used in Russia to convince the world/viewers that Russia is getting attacked and their response with violence is a self defense. Russian journalists can result in death, prison, and other punishments for being neutral or biased, which to me just means them telling the truth.

    • Mark Noonan

      This for this impassioned, eloquent response Ashley. Journalism certainly needs its intrepid reporters right now.

  16. Chelsie Agcaoili

    In the article, Objectivity is dead, and I’m okay with it, written by Lewis Wallace there are many interesting points he made that are all important. I want to focus particularly on the emphasis Wallace made that it matters who is making editorial decisions. White male superiority is undeniably a dominant and prevalent issue that has persisted for a very long time and still does today. I agree on the importance of having a diverse, inclusive output of ideas and opinions, or a community that does not predominantly consist of white men, especially, in leadership roles or in journalism where fact-based information is critical and anticipated to be unbiased and unprejudiced. Perhaps one example that speaks to the danger of journalists being far too ”biased” is how western news organizations portray the Russian military. They address the affliction that the Russian military imposed on the citizens of Ukraine but in a way that is fact-based. However, jail terms has been placed against those who tell “lies” or “false” information about the Russian military. It demonstrates the complexities that come with being a journalist and that fact-based information varies among certain groups of people or regions. Another related issue is the use of power and how much that can control what goes out and how that ties to the sort of information that we consume.

    • Mark Noonan

      Very insightful reply to Wallace’s comments Chelsie. One particularly point you raise is really important: that “white male superiority is undeniably a dominant and prevalent issue that has persisted for a very long time and still does today.”

      This would make for an excellent OpEd topic by the way for the Unit #2 assignment.

  17. Mackenzie Bowman

    I found the points that Wallace made overall to be very interesting. I found the statements in thought 3 to be particularly interesting, about the complexity of truth telling with current conditions of online dispersion of news, social media, and lying leaders. Everything we see in the news is often twisted in one way or another, and skewed to influence the audience they know will be receiving it. However, as Wallace points out, it is a journalist’s job to continue to tell the truth, and they have an obligation to do so. While people may have different opinions on different issues, facts can still be presented truthfully while still allowing for some opinions to be written in such as how the journalist feels about the matter, tactfully. Telling the truth still can and is very scary for many journalists, especially situations like reporters in Russia reporting about Ukraine, where their governments won’t allow the truth to be presented. Either way, as Wallace points out, journalists always will have a duty to tell the truth.

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