As American political divisions deepen following the country's bipartisan structure, the need for objective reporting has skyrocketed.
Unfortunately, as much as the need has skyrocketed, the presence of true unbiased reporting has seemed to plummet.
What is objective or unbiased reporting?
Objective or unbiased reporting only presents the facts.
When reporting objectively, reporters try to avoid voicing any of their own opinions and to stay focused only on what the facts are- regardless of whether or not they are personally supportive of what the facts indicate.
It also means attempting to find theories that support facts instead of finding facts to support theories.
Why does it matter?
There are several problems non-objective reporting can present.
Biased reporting can be harder to identify when opinions are presented as facts. This can lead the reader to accept opinions as facts.
It can be especially hard to identify non-objective reporting when the reporter's opinions/biases reflect the reader's.
When the reporter's or article's focus isn't free of bias (even if it isn't intentional), it can lead to omission of real facts.
The freedom of allowing people to think for themselves by critically drawing their own conclusions and opinions can be impaired if they perceive bias as fact.
What can you do about the lack of nonbiased reporting?
When you read an article or watch a report, constantly be asking yourself if what you are being presented facts.
Read or watch a report from a source that you're unlikely to agree with or that presents something that you are unlikely to agree with. For example, if most of your news is from CNN, try watching a report by Fox, and vice versa.
Question everything. Not to the point of paranoia, but enough to define yourself as a critical and independent thinker.
Overall, always look for the facts and for sources of objective reporting.