The murder of Eric Garner at the hands of New York City police officer last July became one of the most widely covered cases of police brutality in the United States. As coverage of the case continued, interested readers were likely to learn more about the incident via the Associated Press, which published a story last December with the headline, “Police: Chokehold Victim Eric Garner Complicit In Own Death.”
Objectivity as a journalistic ideal has its origins in the 19th century, when newspapers began to worry that they would alienate potential readers by aligning themselves with particular political viewpoints. According to Naureckas, the decision to report news in the manner of repeating both sides of an issue equally has distorted the philosophical understanding of objectivity, that there can be “reality independent of the conscious mind.” “When journalists talk about objectivity, they say that you can only report claims about the world,” he said. “You report claim X from one side and claim Y from another side, and then you’ve done your job.”
“In reality, everybody comes to a story with their own background that informs everything they see and do in life,” Ferkenhoff said. “If you pair reporters from different backgrounds together on a story, it will produce a much more robust story that demonstrates more viewpoints fairly.”
