A definition of journalistic objectivity as a performance

Bibliographic Data

ID11268635
AuthorsSandrine Boudana (0000-0002-8968-2292, New York University, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume33
Issue3
Pages385-398
Publication date2011-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedia Culture & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-4437 • E-ISSN: 1460-3675
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0163443710394899
OpenAlexW2106616519
LanguageEN
Citations received48
References cited19

Historically, journalism as a profession emerged alongside the notion of objectivity. However, in the past decades, objectivity has been dismissed not only as an unattainable standard but also as an undesirable norm. Yet an analysis of the criticisms reveals that most scholars actually fail to define journalistic objectivity. This article tries to remedy this flaw and to suggest that journalistic objectivity is an evolving notion which can no longer be considered a synonym for neutrality or detachment. Objectivity is a standard that promotes truth, defined as a ‘correspondence, grounded in correctness, between thought and reality’ (Heidegger, 1943:1). Unlike alternative standards which are centered on personal moral values, objectivity conceives of journalism as a performance, with this term referring to three interrelated dimensions: the essential notion of practice, the existence of concrete and universal criteria of evaluation, and the openness to criticisms

Correctness · Credibility · Epistemology · Journalism · Media studies · Neutrality · Objectivity (philosophy · Openness to experience · Sociology · Computer Science · Narrative Theory and Analysis · Philosophy · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social Psychology

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