In this review, I reflect on the First Amendment Lecture at the University of Memphis on March 4, 2014. It was given by Geneva Overholser, professor and former director of the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Journalism.
What is news? Is it my Twitter feed? Or what my friends tell me on Facebook? After all the information that television, radio and newspapers spread? One thing is clear, the digital age multiplied and shifted the number of news sources. More and more people get their news online. The internet enables everybody to easily publish their opinion and catch a large audience. On the contrary, with news sources proliferating, it becomes more and more difficult for mass media to serve large groups of recipients. The media landscape is changing (like it always did), and so does news coverage.
In her lecture at the University of Memphis, professor Geneva Overholser focuses on the growth of opinion in the news. Some people are very concerned about media being more „opinionated" these days. Is opinion journalism replacing its counterpart, the traditional principle of objectivity? Is it a good or bad thing, if there is more and more opinion in the news media? Boon or bane? There is no clear answer on that question, that is why Overholser responds to it in a short „it is complicated" at first.
What does objectivity mean?
Trying to approximate the problem, Overholser questions the overall claim of objectivity in news journalism. Can journalists cover news objectively? Using the example of European newspapers, she illustrates that there is a variety of viewpoints in the media landscape. Readers take account of a spectrum of perspectives. For instance, there is a need for conservative or liberal points of view. Complete objectivity is not achievable.
This is nothing new. Furthermore, journalism without opinion is hardly imaginable. Newspaper content has been consisted of analysis and interpretative reporting for years. This is how editors add value to their products. „Opinion does indeed attract an audience", says Overholser. „It is not either or, fact or opinion."
Fact-based „objective" news and opinion pieces rather act together. If journalists want to have the confidence and trust of their consumers, they have to base opinion on facts. In addition, these facts must be disclosed. „Transparency is the key", says Overholser. If the journalist works transparent, the audience will honor him. So with good reason, both a certain kind of objective news coverage and opinion pieces coexist. Opinion does not replace the basic journalistic principles of factuality.
Is there too much opinion in journalism?
Evaluating the growth of opinion in the news, Overholser remains vague. The world becomes more complex, and people demand explanations of complicated topics from the news media, as well as interpretation and analysis.
Overholser does not really worry about the growth of opinion in the news. „It is the shrinkage of original reporting I most fear." In other words, growing opinion in journalism must not cause a decrease of one of the essential parts of journalistic work: the newsgathering, out there where it takes place.
Moreover, Overholser aims at the news audiences to choose wisely what they consume. If too much opinion is provided, there is a simple solution: „Then consume other news, the choice is up to you", says Overholser.
Indeed, the today's news audience can select between numberless platforms to get news, due to new technologies. Mass media are not anymore the one and only news source. For this reason, they have to focus even more on their consumers' needs. This gives the audience a very strong influence on what kind of news journalists deliver. Consumers make choices every day. And these choices help to shape the future.
However the future of journalism will look like, and even though there is no clear answer on the question, if opinion growing in the news growing is boon or bane, Overholser sends one core message to (future) journalists: Tell the people your opinion, but base it on facts and be transparent of what you are doing! Because facts are still the „gold standard" of professional journalism.
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