Just the Facts : How Objectivity Came to Define American Journalism

David T Z Mindich

ISBN 10: 081475614X / ISBN 13: 9780814756140

Published by New York University Press Jul 2000, 2000

About this Item

Neuware - Draws a history of journalism's most respected tenet-objectivity If American journalism were a religion, as it has been called, then its supreme deity would be 'objectivity.' The high priests of the profession worship the concept, while the iconoclasts of advocacy journalism, new journalism, and cyberjournalism consider objectivity a golden calf. Meanwhile, a groundswell of tabloids and talk shows and the increasing infringement of market concerns make a renewed discussion of the validity, possibility, and aim of objectivity a crucial pursuit. Despite its position as the orbital sun of journalistic ethics, objectivity-until now-has had no historian. David T. Z. Mindich reaches back to the nineteenth century to recover the lost history and meaning of this central tenet of American journalism. His book draws on high profile cases, showing the degree to which journalism and its evolving commitment to objectivity altered-and in some cases limited-the public's understanding of events and issues. Mindich devotes each chapter to a particular component of this ethic-detachment, nonpartisanship, the inverted pyramid style, facticity, and balance. Through this combination of history and cultural criticism, Mindich provides a profound meditation on the structure, promise, and limits of objectivity in the age of cybermedia.

Seller Inventory # 9780814756140

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Just the Facts : How Objectivity Came to Define American Journalism
• Publisher: New York University Press Jul 2000
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 081475614X
• ISBN 13: 9780814756140
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 223W x 149H x 16D millimeters 223 millimeters width by 149 millimeters height by 16 millimeters depth
• Weight: 272 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Draws a history of journalism's most respected tenet―objectivity

If American journalism were a religion, as it has been called, then its supreme deity would be "objectivity." The high priests of the profession worship the concept, while the iconoclasts of advocacy journalism, new journalism, and cyberjournalism consider objectivity a golden calf. Meanwhile, a groundswell of tabloids and talk shows and the increasing infringement of market concerns make a renewed discussion of the validity, possibility, and aim of objectivity a crucial pursuit.

Despite its position as the orbital sun of journalistic ethics, objectivity―until now―has had no historian. David T. Z. Mindich reaches back to the nineteenth century to recover the lost history and meaning of this central tenet of American journalism. His book draws on high profile cases, showing the degree to which journalism and its evolving commitment to objectivity altered–and in some cases limited―the public's understanding of events and issues. Mindich devotes each chapter to a particular component of this ethic–detachment, nonpartisanship, the inverted pyramid style, facticity, and balance. Through this combination of history and cultural criticism, Mindich provides a profound meditation on the structure, promise, and limits of objectivity in the age of cybermedia.

About the Author

A former assignment editor for CNN, DAVID MINDICH has also written for the Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, and New York Newsday.