Traditional Journalism Norms Revisited: Journalistic Reconceptualizations of Objectivity

This study uses a theoretical framework grounded in alternatives to normative objectivity to investigate whether and how journalists call for a reimagining of objectivity as an operational framework for journalism. Through a textual analysis of 289 metajournalistic articles and X posts produced betw...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of communication inquiry Vol. 50; no. 1; pp. 52 - 72
Main Author: Velloso, Carolina
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2026
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects:
Critical incidents
Discourse
Discourses
Gravity
Journalism
Journalists
Media coverage
Murders & murder attempts
News media
Norms
Objectivity
Presidential elections
Presidents
Text analysis
Textual analysis
Truth
textual analysis
identity
objectivity
journalism
discourse
ISSN:0196-8599, 1552-4612
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This study uses a theoretical framework grounded in alternatives to normative objectivity to investigate whether and how journalists call for a reimagining of objectivity as an operational framework for journalism. Through a textual analysis of 289 metajournalistic articles and X posts produced between 2012 and 2022, the study also compares how those discourses have (or have not) shifted within that decade. Findings indicate that calls to reimagine objectivity as a journalistic norm steadily increased in volume and gravity over the time period, with two critical incidents prompting a groundswell of discourse: The 2016 presidential election and the murder of George Floyd in 2020. It also found that the metajournalistic discourse on X was distinct but complementary to the discourse in the articles. This study shows that journalists are arguing for an alternative paradigm that retains a commitment to truth, facts, and accuracy during the newsgathering process, but conceptually acknowledges that no kind of knowledge production is inherently value-free, and thus values journalists’ standpoints as an asset, rather than a hindrance, to news coverage.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0196-8599
1552-4612
DOI:10.1177/01968599251325847