Objectivity is a critical word in the mind of a young journalism student. We must tell the news as news without any ulterior motives or thoughts. Your opinion is yours and it is not to interfere with the presentation of news.
Social network spiels and campaign bumper stickers are considered unprofessional for journalists. Any indication of political or social affiliation is frowned upon.
When the Human Rights Campaign launched the iconic equal sign to be used to support marriage equality, the symbol became prolific throughout the Web. Nisha Chittal for the Poynter Institute explored the use of the symbol by professional journalists. For many, it depended on if they were covering the movement or how they viewed it.
Objectivity is not difficult when writing for a publication. An article on the school board’s decision to cut the budget for after-school programs is not filled with personal anecdotes from its author. A thought-out editorial with outrage on these budget cuts or my cousin’s inability to marry her girlfriend can ease my frustration.
But I can’t change my Facebook profile picture.
As a student journalist, the only opinions that seem appropriate to share publicly are my opinions on journalism. My thoughts on abortion, the economy, the environment, marriage equality, and war have no place on Facebook, Twitter or Blogspot. There’s no “COEXIST” or “Save the Polar Bears” bumper sticker clinging to the rear of my Mazda.
In Chittal’s article, Alexander Howard of O’Reilly Media shared a critical thought with Poynter:
“There are a number of social issues that may have had ‘sides’ in past public discourse but have now become viewpoints that few journalists would find tenable to support today. How many journalists were able to remain neutral or objective in their coverage of slavery in the 1860s? Women’s’ suffrage in the early 20th century? Civil rights in the 1960s? Child slavery, sex trafficking, so-called ‘honor rape’ or the impression of child soldiers in the present?”
Millennials like myself grew up in a world with improved tolerance from previous generations. Social issues and movements come to a boil for many young people at the conclusion of childhood. For 20 years, these controversies hardly impacted me. But as my eyes and ears open to the turmoil of the “real world,” it becomes difficult to ignore the issues that have plagued youth of every generation.
To become a writer, I must put aside my thoughts to tell the stories of characters in these moments of decision, of history.
Amanda Starling can be reached at astarling@mail.usf.edu.
