Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Chapter 14

Objectivity is the ability to stay neutral while writing a story. The writer must write without showing his or her opinion or attempting to sway the opinion of the reader.

Thoroughness is a technique that the writer should work hard not to leave any important details out. The reader should finish a story and have all of their questions answered.

Accuracy is key to news writing. If a writer is not accurate in his or her facts, the wrong ideas may be presented in the story.

Fairness is important in order to make sure that the subject of the story is treated fairly. Unfair writing will jeopardize the writer's credibility and may provide wrong information about the subject.

Transparency is the idea that all writing should be open and honest. If the writer tries to hide information, he or she will lose credibility and readers.

Personally, I feel that the principle of objectivity is the most important aspect to writing a story.

Seeing as the public turns to the media for their information, it is crucial that writers present raw information without any bias in order for everyone to be able to form their own opinion.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Annie:

You mentioned objectivity. Do you think, generally speaking, that the media is as objective as it should be these days?

Les

Annie's Blog said...

Do you watch Fox News? That should answer your question right there!

Just kidding :]

No, I think the media lacks for serious objectivity. For as long as I can remember I would wake up on weekends to my Dad watching some "news program" with people yelling at each other about how they felt about the topic of discussion.

I started telling my Dad to form his own opinions and not let angry people do it for him. He didn't like that advice very much.

Newspapers are better than television and both are better than talk radio. Don't even get me started on those opinionated people.

Maybe my generation will fix it. :] We'll see!

Annie