News and the Puzzle
of Objectivity
- Browse: http://mediamatters.org/
- Browse: http://newsbusters.org/
Look at each of the above websites. One is based on the idea that the media are biased in a conservative direction, the other on the idea that the media are biased in a liberal direction. Do you think one side or the other is right? Do you think this because of your own political views or for some other reason?
- David Shaw, "Abortion Bias Seeps into News," LA Times, July 1, 1990 (free registration required).
In what ways, according to David Shaw, was journalistic coverage of the anti-abortion movement unintentionally biased? What kinds of evidence does he use to make his case?
- Michael Schudson, exerpts from "The objectivity norm in American journalism" Journalism Vol. 2(2): 149–170:
What does Schudson mean by the “objectivity norm” in American journalism? How does he explain its origins? What does he mean by “objectivity as ideology”?
- Jay Rosen , "Maybe Media Bias Has Become a Dumb Debate," Part 1 and Part 2
Why does Jay Rosen think "media bias" has become a dumb debate? What does Rosen think about the relation of journalism to politics? What does he mean when he criticizes the "news from nowhere"? What does he mean when he says "To represent the public is to defend the interests of a conversation that is going on all the time in an open society." What are his two answers to the "bias debates?"
- BRENT CUNNINGHAM, “Re-thinking Objectivity,” Columbia Journalism Review, July/August 2003.
Hourly exam #1: Feb. 18th, covering material from the first day of the course to 2/13