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Journal Article 1: Schudson, M. (2001). The objectivity norm in American journalism*. Journalism, 2, 170.

Abstract: Why did the occupational norm of ‘objectivity’ arise in American journalism? This question has attracted the interest of many journalism historians but it has not previously been examined as an instance of a more general social phenomenon, the emergence of new cultural norms and ideals. Four conditions for the emergence of new norms are identified – two having to do with the self-conscious pursuit of internal group solidarity; and two having to do with the need to articulate the ideals of social practice in a group in order to exercise control over subordinates and to pass on group culture to the next generation. Reviewing the history of the professionalization of American journalism, this essay identifies the late 19th and early 20th century as the period when these conditions crystallized. Alternative technological and economic explanations of the emergence of objectivity are criticized and the difficulty of understanding why objectivity as a norm emerged first and most fully in the United States rather than in European journalism is discussed.

Journal Article 2: Mothes, C. (2016). Biased objectivity: An experiment on information preferences of journalists and citizens. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 94, 1095.

Abstract: The present study aims to reconcile conflicting evidence from previous research on the role of objectivity in journalists’ and citizens’ information behaviors. Drawing on news quality frameworks and confirmation bias research, the article proposes a model of “biased objectivity” that was tested by a quasi-experiment with 430 journalists and 432 citizens in Germany. Results show that both perceived objectivity value (news quality perspective) and attitude consistency of a message (confirmation bias perspective) enhanced the informational value of a message, with objectivity value mediating the effect of attitude consistency on informational value perceptions (“biased objectivity” perspective). Journalistic professionalism did not moderate this relationship.

Journal Article 3: Post, S. (2014). Scientific objectivity in journalism? How journalists and academics define objectivity, assess its attainability, and rate its desirability. Journalism, 16, 749.

Abstract: Journalism critics have repeatedly proposed that journalists adopt scientific standards of objectivity. A comparative survey of 134 German journalists (34%) and 163 academics (33%) from different subject areas was conducted to investigate to what degree scientific criteria of objectivity resonate in journalists’ attitudes toward and understandings of objectivity. Results show that journalists and academics equally think that objectivity is attainable and desirable. Yet members of both professions dealing with cultural or historical subjects consider it less desirable than members dealing with social or natural scientific subjects. Journalists and academics define objectivity in different terms. Journalists think objectivity demands ‘trying to let the facts speak for themselves’, and academics think it requires systematic methods and transparent accounts. In others words, respondents’ attitudes toward objectivity depend on the subjects they deal with, while their understandings of objectivity depend on their professional belonging.

Journal Article 4: Robinson, S., & Culver, K. B. (2016). When White reporters cover race: News media, objectivity and community (dis)trust.  Journalism, 7, 1464884916663599.

Abstract: When White reporters cover issues involving race, they often fall back on traditional, passive practices of objectivity, such as deferring to official sources and remaining separate from communities. Using in-depth interviews and focus groups combined with textual analysis in a case study of one Midwestern city, we explore the ethical tensions between the commitment to neutrality and the need for trust building in communities. This essay suggests that the current practices by White reporters may be unethical and argues for an active objectivity focused on loyalty to all citizens. This statement about the clashing of ethics explores a middle ground for reporters in historically White-dominated communities caught between long-time norms and the demands of an increasingly diverse society.