Democracy, Journalism, and Political Bias

Dominic Massa
dm968315@ohio.edu

Politics have recently become a critical issue pertaining to the media.  Although it is the obligation of a journalist to be objective and transparent, politics make this quite difficult, and can lead one to act inappropriately or unprofessional.  Failing to remain objective and allowing personal beliefs or bias to get in the way of one's work could prove to be very detrimental to one's professional career.

Instances

People gather at a vigil in Orlando, Florida after the nightclub shootings in June, 2016.  Although a shooter was involved in this mass murder, many questioned the media when they began to shift focus on gun control and the Republican Party, rather than that of who committed the crime.  Photo via www.newrepublic.com

American media has been under noticeable scrutiny since the election of President Donald Trump.  According to Trump, reporters tend to manipulate stories, eventually making it "fake news".  This was evident during Jim Acosta's interview pertaining to immigration with the president earlier this month.  Annoyed with the CNN correspondent's questions, Trump was eager to move onto another topic, and was short with responses during the interview.  However, Acosta didn't budge, and proceeded to ask away as the argument became increasingly heated.  Eventually, Trump went on a personal attack of the CNN employee, suggesting he let [Trump] run the country and for [Acosta] to run CNN.  In addition, the president noted that by doing this and doing it well, CNN would have better overall ratings.  At the end of the confrontation, Trump makes one more remark to Acosta, indicating that he and his coworkers at CNN report fake news, and by doing so, they become the "...enemy of the people."

Although Acosta's interview did not go as smoothly as one would expect, the CNN reporter did not shy away despite the president's orders.  This is critical to journalism as a whole, because instead of just accepting that the president wouldn't give him a proper answer and ending his interview, he continued to ask Trump the questions he had prepared.

A different instance of democracy and political bias in journalism came earlier this year.  In February, Fox host Laura Ingraham put NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant on blast for their comments relating to alleged racial comments made by President Donald Trump.  After video of both James and Durant's interview with ESPN's Cari Champion was displayed, Ingraham took a personal shot at the pair, questioning why they run their mouths like that to begin with.  Then, after acknowledging that both James and Durant are considered icons and role models to many around them, Ingraham perhaps let her personal beliefs do the broadcasting, saying, "Keep the political knowledge to yourself, or as someone once said, shut up and dribble."  The broadcast was met with great public controversy in the days that followed.

Remaining Objective/Unbiased

Of course, it isn't simple to remain objective or unbiased in a professional setting.  Personal belief or opinion can most definitely influence a journalist to report or act in an unprofessional manner, which typically creates even more problems for both the individual and the organization in which they work for.  Because of this, it is important to value ethics and the exact ways you are expected to go about covering news; by neglecting it, you and your company now have more problems at hand, and your personal reputation as a journalist has been tarnished.