Powerline on objectivity

I completely agree with John Hinderacker on this:

There is a basic division among bloggers and other new-media types, over whether objectivity is a possible or desirable goal. Some argue forcefully that everyone is biased, objectivity is a mirage, and all that is necessary is for each of us to acknowledge his or her own biases, and then have at it.

I couldn’t disagree more. It is true, of course, that perfect objectivity in news reporting is unattainable. Every sentence a reporter writes–or doesn’t write–requires an exercise of judgment which inevitably has elements of subjectivity and even bias. But so what? It seems to me that in news reporting, as opposed to commentary, objectivity–or fairness, or impartiality, which are slightly different but closely related terms–should always be the reporter’s goal. There is such a thing as a fact. And while rating the importance of facts and organizing their presentation necessarily requires judgment, that doesn’t mean that a reporter can’t undertake the task with a reasonable level, or even a high level, of objectivity.

The position of the commentator is entirely different. A commentator relies on accurate reporting of facts as the raw material of his analysis. But the role of the commentator is to go beyond a particular set of facts; to argue from them, to place them in context, and to draw conclusions from them. A commentator can be middle of the road, of course, but he isn’t supposed to be impartial or objective in the way that a news reporter is. His perspective not only does, but should, infuse his analysis.

The traditional distinction between news reporting and “opinion” journalism, in other words, is correct. In my opinion, the worst result that could come from the rise of the new media would be for traditional media to be relieved of the burden of striving for objectivity–to adopt the view that we are all commentators now, so that no professional standard remains in place to check the tendency of mainstream reporters (almost all of whom are liberals) toward biased, and therefore inaccurate, reporting. To some degree, at least, I think this has happened.