Staying Neutral – A Challenge
The issue of staying neutral or unbiased described in the article I chose is relevant to my topic in the aspect of reporting. Reporting on political news is a challenge because you want to report a factual basis yet keep your own opinions neutral. However, in politics, it is often hard to remain neutral because there is rarely a decided winner. This is the first challenge that I will tackle in discussing political reporting.
The ethical issue of this article is about remaining neutral while reporting on political news. The article states that while it is a challenge to remain neutral and unbiased when reporting political events, it is even more of challenge when reporting on political debates. Unlike when reporting on other events, political debates don’t have a clear winner to report on. It is instead up to the journalist to communicate to the public who made the best argument and which moments mattered most, using their own determinations about the debate to report what happened. With debates and most political events lasting well beyond a few hours, it makes it hard for the public to stay tuned in and watching, so informing the public on what happened lies with the journalist. Everyone has different views and opinions so it is important to stay neutral to deliver a clear picture of what happened.
A pro of staying neutral when reporting on news is that you will reach a wider audience. Most news stations, no matter how hard they try not to, tend to favor a certain side or belief system. My solution to the problem at hand, based on the article, is to stick to the general facts and keep wording as neutral as possible. If the main points and arguments are highlighted in an informative way, it eliminates the potential for bias. Keeping the content strict and informative with little room for discussion will further the neutrality of the reporter.
Challenges of Reporting on Politics 