Topher Morrison
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| Image Source: Third World Traveler |
Unbiased news and objective reporting are nothing more than modern chimeras. What is omitted is often the most important part of context. As in the pursuit of any ideal all journalists can honestly profess is to labor on the path of infinite progress. Claims to have accomplished an unbiased representation or a truly objective report should be viewed as dubious. In other words:
"Truth and news are not the same thing."
– Katharine Graham, owner of The Washington Post
The complexity of any event is always best understood much later after all the facts are understood. Hindsight after all is 20/20. All any one individual or organization can do is report the constellation of available facts as succinctly and accurately as possible.
Despite the groundbreaking advances in technology journalism remains a human production. The real achievement therefore has not been increased accuracy as much as it has been an amelioration of inequality between establishment media, grassroots journalism and the social media which tie them together.
The world of journalism is now all, but flat. Our access to tools and information is unprecedented even when compared with that available five years ago. The cost of that access has similarly been reduced. Citizen journalism is on the rise, is providing a valuable supplement to traditional news organs and is unearthing a middle ground between the traditional left and right.
"During times of universal deceit. Telling the truth is revolutionary."
- George Orwell
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