Truth and Objectivity in the Ethics of Journalism: An Appraisal

Abstract

Truth and objectivity are fundamental principles of the ethics of journalism. The quality of good journalism in any society, among others, is measured by these two indispensable principles. Because of their importance to the profession, this paper interrogates these concepts in the light of their practicability. Can truth and objectivity be achieved in the field of journalism in view of our various conceptions of truth? How can we deal with the problem of concealment of truth and misleading reports in journalism? Are journalists morally bound to tell the whole truth to the public always? These are the key questions this paper seeks to address. It explores the various notions of truth, namely: the correspondence theory, the coherent theory and the pragmatic theory. The question of objectivity in the presentation of information to the public was equally addressed. Can objectivity be ever achieved in journalism? What are the prospects and problems of journalistic objectivism? The paper adopts the method of critical and textual analysis. In all, the paper concludes that truth and objectivity can be achieved in journalism if practitioners are well tutored in professional ethics with a consciousness of its concrete internalization and actual practicalization.