The goal of objectivity is to facilitate truth, not equal time.
Evidence
The media may have told themselves that it was not their job to take a stand on a “partisan” issue, but in an environment in which a little research surely would have told them that scientists were not divided, this amounted to journalistic malpractice. The goal of objectivity is not to give equal time between truth and falsehood—it is to facilitate the truth. Since scientists had already reached a consensus on climate change, the only “controversy” afoot was a political one that had been stirred up by the oil companies and those who believed their lies. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 164
Categorization
- DEFINE: A clean redefinition of journalistic objectivity that reframes the whole chapter’s argument.
- XREF: connects to: Traditional media face contradictory demands that make competent truth-telling punishable. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 177; Split-screen debates made settled science look genuinely controversial to viewers. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 163; The wire service model created journalism’s objectivity ideal (+2 more)