Imkong Walling
Objectivity and journalism go hand in hand, or that was the traditionally accepted standard. Giving equal space to both sides helps maintain balance while distinguishing news reportage from propaganda. This concept has increasingly come under question, as assuming and treating every issue as having two sides of equal weightage can be misleading. In fact, there can be multiple sides to an issue or story, and viewing journalism merely as a mouthpiece for opposing parties does not serve the journalistic purpose.
The notion of journalism as an objective pursuit is not without drawbacks, for it can turn mechanical much like toeing bureaucratic protocol. This calls to mind a Thomas Sowell quote, earlier featured in this column, where he observes that “for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.”
This observation also applies to journalistic neutrality, which faces a similar ‘mechanical’ hazard that would have news reports present rival narratives rather than context, often leaving the reader speculating. While reporting things in a matter-of-fact way, and by the neutrality playbook, sounds safe and balanced, it leaves room for news reportage to take shelter under the cloak of guidelines.
Media scholar Robert G Picard put it this way in a 2016 lecture on journalism and populism. “Journalists have an obligation to be fair to those they are reporting about, but also to those they are reporting for. The duty to report fairly does not mean permitting misrepresentations, exaggerations, falsehoods, and lies to be disseminated without rejoinder. And when there is a conflict between duty to those being reported upon and the public, the duty to readers, viewers, and listeners should prevail.”
The National Press Day theme this year, ‘Journalism: Populist or responsible,’ seems to have hit the right chord in addressing this concern.
Populism is often presented as a struggle between the oppressed on one side, and a corrupt ruling elite on the other. In one sense, it gives voice to marginalised citizens who feel ignored by mainstream political and financial institutions. However, populism comes with strings attached, and in India’s context, and across much of the democratic world, is closely linked to the electoral game. While it champions the cause of the commoners, it can be weaponised irrespective of political divide. The crusaders, who claim to stand for the common people, can use it as a vehicle for vested interest.
In such an environment, the pursuit of objectivity or neutrality can unwittingly get caught in power dynamics. Giving equal space projects a semblance of balanced coverage that could end up amplifying skewed and unverified claims. Like bureaucracy blindly following procedure, journalism can project an appearance of neutrality but could land up serving partisan interests.
On this National Press Day, there are questions worth asking. Can responsible journalism be reduced to a mechanical exercise where procedure matters more than the outcome? Is it that presenting opposing views consummates the journalistic obligation?
The writer is a Principal Correspondent at The Morung Express. Comments can be sent to [email protected]
