As a journalism major, I understand the need for objective reporting, but I also understand the struggle to remain truly objective when reporting on big issues. In this article, for example, I am writing about objectivity without being very objective at all, but at least I'm telling you.
Over the last century, the idea of free press and free journalism has not always been a universal right — and in some countries, it still isn't. An organization called Radio Free Europe was started in 1949 to provide “objective” and free information to countries that were under the control of the Soviet Union. Their first broadcast was in 1950 to Czechoslovakia and it was a huge success. Over the next couple of decades, RFE opened broadcast into various countries under Soviet control. RFE was broadcasting underground all over Eastern Europe, and in Hungary, their broadcasts played a crucial role in inspiring the revolution that was attempted in 1956.
Radio Free Europe has joined forces with Radio Liberty and adjusted their focus to mainly far Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries. They focus on countries where the state highly censors the media content their public are given access to. This makes their jobs difficult because they have to have creative ways of sharing their content with their audiences. These days, RFE/RL uses mediums outside of radio, including various Internet pages and mobile apps.
All of their efforts are aimed at providing free and unbiased information to the 26 countries they broadcast in. “By promoting the free flow of information, RFE/RL supports the development of civil society and thus makes a contribution to long-term development and stability in the regions we cover,” says the RFE/RL website. This organization has always been based in the values of democracy and freedom of speech and press. These are the values that the U.S. was formed on and now RFE/RL is funded entirely by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
RFE/RL is meant to free oppressed people and give them access to an abundance of information their own government won’t allow them to see. By providing information with such a Western, democratic angle, RFE/RL cannot remain entirely objective. They choose to write some stories instead of others.
During a presentation at their headquarters in Prague, we were shown a video they had produced that went viral. It was of an older, Pakistani man named Ghani Baba who carried 100 kilograms across the distance of one kilometer to make some money to feed his family. The video showed the man going about his daily routine and doing his work. This was an amazing story because after the first video went viral, there was an outpouring of support for Ghani Baba and he was provided with some basic human necessities and given money so he wouldn’t have to continue this backbreaking work. This grew into the local community, realizing they needed to create some kind of retirement pension program for their elderly.
Obviously it is a great thing that RFE/RL helped this man and his family and opened the eyes of his community to a need they needed to fill -- there is no question about that. Their claim of objective journalism is in question, though. The videographer chose to film Baba and present his suffering to the entire world. From the Western perspective, RFE/RL is opening the minds of people who have been oppressed and censored by their own government.
Being an “objective” journalist is something to work towards but is almost impossible to achieve completely. Journalists must make decisions about what information is worth sharing and whose perspectives are more valuable than others. In this sense, completely unbiased, objective journalism does not exist.
But as journalists, we can work towards achieving the highest level of objectivity we can and always, always informing our reader about any unknown biases that may exist in a story.
