Opinions in Journalism: Can a journalist express their opinions on human rights issues?

Claire Schiopota

cs123719@ohio.edu

One theme I’ve been met with throughout my college experience as a student journalist is the idea that I’m not allowed to share my opinions. It was a strange concept at first. Being told I couldn’t share my thoughts online felt wrong, especially when entering college in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and during the Black Lives Matter movement. 

After I began reporting for The Post, I seemed to understand why I should remain neutral and objective on social media. Other publications like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal specifically requested that their journalists remain neutral on Twitter and Facebook; it made sense that I should do the same.

The Society of Professional Journalists explain the use of social media through a long set of statements from publications around the nation. The Associated Press, or the AP, statement clearly explains the point of view many other publications have.

“Anyone who works for the AP must be mindful that opinions they express may damage the AP’s reputation as an unbiased source of news. They must refrain from declaring their views on contentious public issues in any public forum.”

While reading this statement and hearing different outlooks on sharing opinions as a journalist, one question repeatedly comes to mind.

Graphic of two people talking.

(Source: The Centennial Talon)

Can a journalist express their opinions on human rights issues?

According to the United Nations, human rights are defined as rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Everyone is entitled to human rights without discrimination, no matter the circumstance.

From my perspective, the nature of human rights issues do not inherently start as political issues. These human rights issues become political issues once they can be debated within the government. When politicians have the ability to discuss the issues, sides can be chosen and the issues become a political commentary. Once the issue turns political in nature, journalists can no longer comment.

For example, the Black Lives Matter movement was created to “eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities.” This statement does not indicate the involvement of the government, but when the movement pointed at police brutality as part of the issue, the government was then involved in the conversation.

Many journalists have defended the idea that human rights issues are not political issues. Opinion writers from The Daily Iowan, The Red and Black and Hartford Courant all enforced this idea.

To be honest, I don’t believe I know the answer. I feel like I’m only touching on the tip of the iceberg addressing this topic, too. Ultimately though, I think it’s okay that I’m unsure. I’m still learning and growing; I hope to understand and learn in time. For now, I plan to listen and observe a diverse set of perspectives on every issue, human rights related or political. I think every journalist can benefit from that.