In an age of bloggers, pundits and hacks broadcast from coast to coast, few people seem to understand newspapers, and even fewer know the meaning of the word “bias” as it pertains to news media.
Opinion writing has long had a home in American newspapers. In fact, most early newspapers depended on opinion for readership. They served as de facto arms of the popular political parties — seeking only to appeal to the fans of those parties. It wasn’t until after World War I — a time when propaganda was consistently published on the front pages of papers as prestigious as the New York Times — that objectivity found a home in American journalism.
Aware that opinion was still valuable and popular among their readerships, editors established the editorial and op-ed page — named so because it often appears opposite the editorial page. Though some may question the need for opinion in news media, they are uniquely positioned to provide informed views because they are at the center of the information transfer. Modern newspapers generally limit all opinion content to those sections to retain objectivity and steer clear of real or perceived bias. The Crow’s Nest limits opinion to these two pages.
Publications that are not so linearly defined have a more difficult time keeping opinion away from objective news. Network news, like ABC, CBS and NBC, tend to keep programming objective and clear of opinion. However, cable news stations — especially Fox News and MSNBC — have clear biases. An educated viewer can easily spot the differences between news programs like “Fox Report with Shepard Smith” that stick to the facts more often and shows that depend more on opinion, like “The O’Reilly Factor.”
However, networks that claim to be fair and balanced often are anything but — an understanding that is even more important on the Web than from any other medium. Thousands of websites exists that claim to offer “the truth.” But most of these provide at best nothing but watered-down opinion with no original reporting, and dangerous conspiracy theories at worst.
In most cases, there is nothing wrong with a blog or website offering an opinion — as long as it is properly labeled. A campus blog featuring a story about a student presidential candidate, for example, is not violating an ethical standard if it is made clear the article is an opinion.
Despite its popularity, opinion writing attracts a wide variety of critics. Many people mistakenly assume that an entire publication leans one way or another because of the editorials it publishes. The New York Times, for example, tends to publish editorials that lean left, but most of its news content is objective and fair. Newsrooms tend to keep a wall between editorial writers and news reporters — the people who write objective news are not also allowed to write opinions and vice versa.
Newspapers are never as controversial as they are during elections, when many of their editorial boards choose to “endorse” a candidate. This process brings their claims of fairness and objectivity into question, critics argue. But endorsements should not be viewed as a unanimous approval from an entire newspaper’s staff. It is merely a majority vote of the members of the editorial board, usually made only after hours of heated argument and debate.
Because of the candidates running in this year’s election, The Crow’s Nest is not endorsing a candidate or party in the Student Government elections, held this year on March 4 through 8 on Blackboard. We believe both presidential parties have significant experience and similar goals, and either would do a satisfactory job in representing student interests to the administration.
A total of 25 senators are campaigning for 30 open seats this year. In the future, when these positions are contested, The Crow’s Nest may provide recommendations for election. However, for now we applaud those students willing to put forth the time and effort of representing the students at USF St. Petersburg.
