Objecting to objectivity

Normally I like to write my own thoughts in my blog, but every once in a while someone else says it so well you feel like you should just use their words.

This piece examines the comments of Fox News London bureau chief Scott Norvell, who basically conceded that fair and balanced is just a nice slogan.

From Slate Magazine’s Timothy Noah:

Here is what Norvell fessed up to in the May 20 Wall Street Journal Europe:

“Even we at Fox News manage to get some lefties on the air occasionally, and often let them finish their sentences before we club them to death and feed the scraps to Karl Rove and Bill O'Reilly. And those who hate us can take solace in the fact that they aren't subsidizing Bill's bombast; we payers of the BBC license fee don't enjoy that peace of mind.

Fox News is, after all, a private channel and our presenters are quite open about where they stand on particular stories. That's our appeal. People watch us because they know what they are getting. The Beeb's institutionalized leftism would be easier to tolerate if the corporation was a little more honest about it.”

…Lord only knows where Norvell acquired the erroneous belief that Fox News is "honest" about its conservative slant; perhaps he's so used to Fox's protestations of objectivity being ignored that he literally forgot that they continue to be uttered.

I’ll be honest, I’m actually no fan of spurious claims of objectivity whether they come from Fox News or the NY Times. In fact, I’d rather see the media just be open about their biases, preferences, and personal connections. That way each reader, listener, or viewer can judge for themselves.

It’s also worth noting that the principle of objectivity is rather new, having swept newspapers (and carried to the “new” media of radio and television) in the early 20th Century. Before that, most print papers were partisan rags and you just read what you wanted to hear. At least you knew why someone had their perspective. Journalists now sort of imply that they deserve your trust, but don’t bother to explain why.