Jenna Stocker writes for the Federalist about a major change in basic media practices.
Advocating against objectivity is journalism’s new cause. Indeed, objectivity in journalism is no longer an industry standard — it’s not even a goal for which to strive. In the new media landscape, objectivity is a “tool of oppression” and a barrier to contextual relativism for which journalists-as-moralists hold the keys.
One would think giving up the reputation of a whole industry is a steep price to score political points. But when the loudest voices and brightest stars look in the mirror and think themselves the last, best hope of democracy, it’s easy to see why.
This discounting of journalistic objectivity is another faction of woke intersectionality. This past July, University of British Columbia Journalism professor Candis Callison was interviewed by CBC Radio about her book, “Reckoning: Journalism’s Limits and Possibilities.” Her words crystalize what the new rules have established in terms of both the validity and usefulness of objectivity in reporting and modern journalism. …
… You see, objectivity in journalism is illusory, according to Callison. Apparently, all it does is reaffirm the outlook of a white male-dominated world. This is an explicit shift from accuracy to advocacy.
In a world of equality and participation trophies, the last bastion of academic competition comes down to who can adopt the most radical progressive teachings. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this questioning of objective journalism isn’t constrained to the uber-woke environment of Canadian academia.
In an August 20, 2020 interview with The Stanford Daily, Stanford Communications Professor Emeritus Ted Glasser stated, “Journalists need to be overt and candid advocates for social justice, and it’s hard to do that under the constraints of objectivity.” This is an influential voice openly declaring that objectivity is directly at odds with the purpose and practice of a profession charged with delivering facts to the public.
