Objectivity as a Genre Flashcards
Central genre convention in the news media
Objectivity as a practice
Two meanings of objectivity
- unbiased view of reality
- practices intended to approximate being inbiased
Where does the practice of objectivity has its roots?
ethnomethodology
Ethnomethodology
a theory of the microdynamics of behavior
According to Gaye Tuchman, why do journalists practice objectivity?
They are frequently criticized and are under the threat of libel suits
Journalistic practices to practice objectvitiy (6)
- Verifying facts
- Conflicting possibilities
- Supporting evidence
- Judicious use of quotations
- Inverted pyramid
- Common sense
Verifying facts
a statement that can’t be contested and is verifiable
Conflicting Possibilities
getting both sides of the story (e.g. a pro quote and a con quote)
Supporting Evidence
must be able to back up a contentious claim
Judicious use of quotation marks
direct quotes to ensure a news source isn’t attributing an opinion to themself
Journalists wil often send out media requests in order to prompt experts to provide a statement that coincides with their own beliefs
Implication of quoting
-what is controversial can change over time
-early on in an issue, everthing is in quotes however as a story matures it will become part of the narrative because there is more familiarity
Inverted pyramid
summary and most important facts appear in first paragraph and then extraneous information late on
Common sense
information that everyone knows and doesn’t need verification
