Title: Best Practices for Journalistic Balance: Gatekeeping, Imbalance and the Fake News Era
Abstract: The concepts of balance and fairness are considered pillars for ethical journalism. However, balance is not clearly defined within the working profession, and more importantly, the construction of a balanced news story is often subjective to its creator and institution, leading to calls of imbalance by both the public and political figures. This study examines the construct of balance and if there is a connection between imbalance and fake news from the perspective of news journalists within the United States. Interviews with television journalists across the U.S. show the definition of balance is widely varied, with a need to expand beyond the traditional two-sides-of-the-story model; a recognition that the expanse of the Internet has created a force of un-vetted gatekeepers allowing for imbalanced reporting, and that the threat of fake news could seriously harm balanced journalism.
Publication Year: 2019
Publication Date: 2019-09-03
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 22
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot