Journalists are never free of bias. Each person has different life experiences, different cultures, grew up in different places in different social classes. But they still have the responsibility to be transparent and accurate in their journalism. However, journalists should not be neutral, and neutrality does not necessarily mean a story is true or unbiased. When it is impossible to check your bias, perspective, or worldview at the door, one may question how it is even possible to accurately cover the news. However, objectivity is not to step away from your bias. Instead, it is a consistent, transparent method of testing your facts. When we realize that journalists, no matter what, will have different worldviews, we can instead focus on how to still report accurate and truthful stories despite these differences. Even though a journalist has an opinion, they can still be accurate if they stick to the facts above all else and have an unwavering dedication to the truth. This is done by following this set of concepts outlined in "The Elements of Journalism."
1. Never add anything that was not there
2. Never deceive the audience
3. Be as transparent as possible about your methods and motives
4. Rely on your own original reporting
5. Exercise humility
By recognizing that journalists mustn't be neutral and that objectivity is a method rather than an aim, I have a higher respect for the news when it is accurate and I understand better what it takes to produce truthful stories. As Journalists, we should embrace our beliefs and perspectives without promoting them to the reader/audience
"In the end it is good judgment, and an abiding commitment to the principle of first allegiance to citizens, that separates the journalist from the partisan. Having an opinion is not only allowable, not only natural, but it is valuable to the natural skepticism with which any good reporter approaches a story. But a journalist must be smart enough and honest enough to recognize that opinion must be based on something more substantial than personal beliefs if it is to be of journalistic use” (Kovach & Rosenstiel).
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