Objectivity and Sensationalism

•As discussed in the earlier classes,  it is important to be fair and objective in reporting given that the media has upon itself the huge and important task of reporting the truth. Therefore , personal biases and preferences should all be left at home when one is reporting a story. •No matter how loathsome an individual/institution, you as a reporter/journalist must steer clear of the biases that shape your opinion. The opinion formation should be left to the masses based on the facts provided to them.

•Sensationalising everything today has one main purpose – ratings that lead to revenues. Given the nature of the content, the ratings (in case of TV) or circulation (in case of print media) increase which attracts more and more advertisers and revenues. Thus, the mad rush to get higher ratings and revenues can often lead to the media not reporting on the issues that matter.

•It is these biases that can lead to sensationalism in the media which is often referred to as yellow journalism as well. •Often the media today chooses to report stories that have a huge shock value, attention-grabbing names and events rather than reporting the issues that matter. •In fact so great is the need to sensationalise everything that the media will report only those things that make a good story without checking for accuracy.