As journalism students, we are taught to be unbiased at all times. In our reporting and even our personal social media presence.
But, we all have biases whether we act on them or not, which makes this increasingly difficult during times like these.
Before I got into journalism I aspired to be an activist, which is the case for many journalism majors. When you go from being outspoken and opinionated on every social justice issue or political conflict that arises, you’re in for a rude awakening when you’re taught to be unbiased as a journalist.
We learn that our activism must shift from sharing personal opinions on issues and sharing information that aligns with our beliefs, to seeking out the truth and telling people’s stories from an unbiased perspective.
While opinions vary on who the oppressor is in the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict, one thing is clear: everyone is taking a side.
One quote that has stuck out to me for years is from Desmond Tutu: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
Are journalists siding with the oppressor by remaining unbiased and seeking the truth from both sides of a conflict?
Our writers pitched stories wanting to shed light on certain groups and I found myself asking other writers to cover the “other side” in hopes of the paper not being perceived as biased.
When one writer did not complete the coverage of a certain student group on campus, I worried that I would have to scrap the other story because “both sides” were not getting equal coverage. This was not due to a lack of intent to uplift all voices, but because one student ran out of time to cover the story. I then contemplated writing the story myself, but then I worried that running a story that highlights one side of a conflict coming from the “Editor-in-Chief” may give readers the wrong impression.
We have already received backlash for our unbiased coverage of a protest, with people claiming that we support one side. Let this be a reminder to readers: The coverage of an event or organization does not equate to the support of said event or organization. The writers and editors at The Recorder are working hard to leave our natural personal biases out of stories and give ethical, accurate reporting.
