Impartiality is not fair: Toward an alternative approach to the evaluation of content bias in news stories

Abstract

Historically, impartiality has been imposed as the norm of professional journalism. Yet, be it conceived in terms of non-partisanship or balance, it offers a limited approach to the evaluation of the quality of news. This article revises the traditional approach to bias: As neutrality is impossible and truth does not lie in the middle, accuracy is better served by fairness than by a delusive position of impartiality. An alternative model promoting fairness is thus proposed, which is based on the criteria of consistency and justification of position-taking. Based on the work of socio-linguist Labov, this model is not without methodological challenges. We apply the model to a newspaper article for illustrative purposes and as a starting point for discussion, showing that, unlike impartiality, fairness is altogether an attainable and desirable standard.

The advocacy continuum: Towards a theory of advocacy in journalism

“…The type of language used in a story can also colour the way an issue is presented. For instance, Boudana (2016) argues that the type of adjectives and verbs used to describe an issue or a person's behaviour can influence who the audience sympathizes with:…”

Weight-of-Evidence Strategies to Mitigate the Influence of Messages of Science Denialism in Public Discussions

“…Objectivity is a maxim in journalism that aims to reduce bias in media reports by eliminating journalists' subjective interpretations (Boudana, 2016;Schudson, 2001). A frequently applied strategy to achieve objectivity is to balance media reports by contrasting two opposing positions on the same issue, leaving it to the audience to weigh the positions and draw conclusions about the subject matter.…”

“…A frequently applied strategy to achieve objectivity is to balance media reports by contrasting two opposing positions on the same issue, leaving it to the audience to weigh the positions and draw conclusions about the subject matter. However, balancing can reduce bias only if both opposing positions are supported by an equal amount of evidence (Boudana, 2016;Dearing, 1995). If this assumption is violated, balancing can turn into a source of bias itself.…”

Why have few journalists been prosecuted for incitement to war crimes?

“…Among the journalists not prosecuted for the Rwanda Genocide were several French journalists, whose news organizations are partially subsidized by the French government and whose news coverage obscured the French role in supporting the dictatorship of Juvénal Habyarimana with a metanarrative that blamed the victims (Jennings, 2000: 87–90). Le Monde , for example, characterized the violence as a centuries old interethnic conflict (Boudana, 2016: 604). Ronayne (2001: 105) repeats the observation that many journalists covering the Balkan Wars of the 1990s also referenced ancient hatreds in a manner that ignored more proximate causes for the conflicts, including the ethnic hate-filled messages of Croatian and Serbian journalists, and justified inaction or weak intervention by NATO member states.…”