Politics is probably the most pressing issue when discussing ideologies and journalism. A journalism student posed the question in regard to covering politics in the United States to the Washington Post, here is the discussion that followed.
The opinion journalist replies basically, that many news organizations in the United States are simply giving up the guise of objectivity and are moving towards a new form of “opinionated news coverage,” naming Fox News and MSNBC as his main examples.
There is nothing wrong with having an opinion, and opinion editorials are an important part of journalism. They help provide people with alternating views of important topics. Here is an opinion editorial from the New York Times about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on hurtful speech and the First Amendment. It is not breaking new information, but it is giving the public a specific take on it, perhaps a different take than the one that you have. It is thought provoking, and helps us make sense of the news we ingest.
In class we did an activity where we got into groups and acted as a news editing board. We had several lists of stories, ranging in different topics and qualities. We had to cut them down and pick which two out of each group we would run, based on their importance, newsworthiness, and interest. I think that most of us chose the same stories to present because we were all acting as the same news organization. We were reporting based on our audience, therefore we were trying to report stories that seemed clear of opinions.
In the end, it's the consumer, ONCE AGAIN, that chooses whatever they are going to watch and ingest. So if you don't like it, read something else!
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