By Kathryn Carlson
What do an objective journalist and a polka-dotted rhinoceros have in common? Neither one exists. Rhinos are grey and reporters are human.
But somewhere along the way, journalists and their editors have been made out to be another species altogether, as if they live in a vacuum where space and time simply don’t exist.
With phrases like “journalistic impartiality” naively tossed around at the water cooler, it seems most people believe newspapers provide unbiased coverage.
But here’s the newsflash the Canadian media don’t want you to hear: journalists are people and people have opinions.
Male or female, gay or straight, tall or short, rich or poor — these are all characteristics that shape a journalist’s perspective on a given issue.
The fact is that by the time a reporter or an editor decides what to include in the day’s newspaper, objectivity has already been compromised.
What’s worse is that in the quest for impartiality, Canada’s national newspapers have become bland like a baked potato without all the fixings.
In order to appeal to as many people as possible and avoid offending them, newspapers take a middle-of-the road approach and sit timidly on the fence.
Canadian readers deserve better than the watered-down pablum that reporters are dishing out and in their obsession with appearing objective, news rooms have been infiltrated with a culture of indifference where journalists are discouraged from taking a stand.
But this wishy-washy ambivalence hasn’t always characterized Canada’s national newspapers. In pre-Confederation years, newspapers were vocal in their support or disdain for the various political parties and the policies they put forth.
The Globe became Upper Canada’s first daily newspaper in 1844 and was the voice of the Moderate Reform movement. The Loyalist, on the other hand, spoke to Conservative readership, writing loudly and proudly in support of the Family Compact and the Tories.
The Examiner filled in the space on the far right by vocalizing support for the Radical Reform movement.
Whether the issue at hand is the war on terror, same-sex marriage, gun control or free trade, Canadians today still have opinions that span the wide range of the political spectrum. Journalists have the responsibility to write to each of those audiences, and reporters should be encouraged to take a stand on contoversial issues.
The mainstream Canadian media needs to create a climate for this to happen so that journalists can stop censoring themselves and use words that are actually charged with meaning.
Though the National Post is more right-leaning than the Globe and Mail, neither newspaper is consistent or overt in their approach to news coverage. Furthermore, where is the national newspaper that speaks to the far left or even the centre-left?
Canada simply needs more national newspapers that cover a range of political viewpoints.
The British press is an example of a system that does just that. Almost the entire range of the political spectrum is covered and neither journalists nor their readers expect objectivity.
The Independent speaks to the far left, The Guardian leans to the left-of-centre, The Times is the traditional Tory paper while The Telegraph argues from the right and brings a patriotic flavour to its conservatism. Britons can pick up The Guardian one day and The Telegraph the next in order to gain a fuller perspective on a given issue. These papers make no bones about their political affiliation and their readers can approach the articles in the appropriate frame of mind.
Britain has an exceptionally high level of newspaper readership, and though this might be attributed to the sheer geography and population density of the country, perhaps it is also because of the lively discussion British newspapers provide.
British papers have to compete for their readers and intense competition usually breeds quality and innovation — both are goals the Post and the Globe don’t necessarily need to strive to achieve, considering they only compete against one another.
Canadians appear to be getting increasingly frustrated, looking to blogs for any sort of political analysis of the news. People surf the net for blogs that are aligned with their personal views, why shouldn’t they be able to buy a newspaper that does the same?
In order to move from a system based on feigned impartiality to one where newspapers are overtly partisan, the Canadian government could subsidize the development of emerging newspapers across the political spectrum.
People in the mainstream media industry need to start taking risks and if Canadians want a truly responsible press, they need to demand it.
The bottom line is that it’s time journalists and their editors come out of the closet and wear their political stripes on their sleeves.