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I'm a neutral party, neither American nor Russian. To me it was very clearly a very well produced and written story about life along a 12-hour train ride betwee
by r0h1n 13y ago
I'm a neutral party, neither American nor Russian. To me it was very clearly a very well produced and written story about life along a 12-hour train ride between two cities. I concede that my views might have been different had I been Russian.
It is the second part of your comment that I disagree with more strongly.
> We rely on journalists to sift through information and give us a balanced story based on their perception of the truth. That means we need journalists to step outside the view of the world that their country, culture and government gives them and try to see it afresh, without preconceptions.
I'm afraid this is a dated and soon to be extinct definition of journalism. Instead of an artificially inserted "balance" (which too is subjective), its better to look for truth, transparency & engaging storytelling. As a reader I'd prefer Glenn Greenwald's biased but fierce, well-researched & take-no-prisoners style stories than, say, the BBC's articles. As readers we have our own biases, and so do journalists (and their publications).
> I do find the lack of balance and parochial worldview of the NYT and US press disturbing at times. The temptation is to see the world through a US prism without taking into account other viewpoints.
This one is easy. The NYT's key market is the USA. Most of its journalists are from the US. Naturally, their writing will tend to have that bias. As readers we just need to be aware of that and calibrate their versions of the truth accordingly.
- grey-area 13y ago"balance" (which too is subjective), its better to look for truth, transparency & engaging storytelling. That's what I mean by balance, we probably substantially agree there, but perhaps the misuse of the word 'balance' in US media to mean presentation of false dichotomies has distorted the term in this context. I don't think allowing opinions means you disclaim all responsibility to objectivity. Just because you can't achieve objectivity doesn't mean you shouldn't strive for it. A search for truth involves striving to rise above parochial and partial concerns, particularly in reporting on wars or nations in conflict. Naturally, their writing will tend to have that bias. As editors and journalists, they should strive to rise above it, that's their job, not the readers'. That's not to say they shouldn't have an opinion, but that it should be informed, clearly stated and not an attempt to distort the truth as they see it or insert their own narrative. Personally I think it's time for a new global journalism, without attempts to filter the truth and pick a side amongst often unpalatable narratives presented by national governments.