In Journalism, How Many Voices Are Too Many?

America’s media system is run by many differing opinions and voices. When new articles comprise facts and opinions, it can leave the public with a skewed opinion about the event, which in turn, can hurt the truth and objectivity of the matter. If the public is getting a skewed version of the truth through a reporter’s opinion, does that really help to inform the public? Or does it manipulate them into thinking as the reporter who wrote the story does? How is the public supposed to stay informed when the news they are receiving is only half of the truth? If the purpose of journalism is “to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing” (Kovach & Rosenstiel, pg. 9), why are we still getting a biased story from some reporters?

According to an AFA journal written by Teddy James, when a journalist minimizes one side of a story, or if a bunch of journalists sympathize with only one side of the story in their writing rather than explain the whole picture, they are demonstrating bias. Tim Groseclose who was quoted in this journal said, “I suspected that media outlets would tilt to the left because surveys have shown that reporters tend to vote more Democratic than Republican. But I was surprised at just how pronounced the distinctions are," (Groseclose, James).

The following are examples of news headlines I found on google images of real news stories when I searched "biased journalism headlines."


According to The Atlantic’s article, “The Headlines That Are Covering Up Police Violence,” written by Sarah J. Jackson on June 3, 2020, “how the news covers activism matters profoundly to a democracy because the media can influence public support or rejection of policies that might solve social ills such as racism and police brutality.” This article is a good example of bias within an article that happens to be about bias problems in journalism and journalistic integrity.

It is of the utmost importance of journalists to keep the public informed, but that can only be with the truth and not their opinions of the “important” parts of the truth. Objectivity in journalism should be the first priority so the public can then form opinions on their own. As I continue in the field of journalism, I intend to, with all of my integrity, inform with only the truth of the matter to allow my audience to interpret my news stories however they see best the fit.