Above: Photo by AILA Images/DepositPhotos

As journalists we cover the issues but do we take time to acknowledge the impact of the issues on us?

Journalists are expected to be neutral, unbiased and balanced when covering and presenting a story. Whether it is race, politics, religion, culture, geography, school, class or sexuality, can we say we are not swayed either way or to the middle? Can we?

Even before we cover a story we already have a bias … a point of view …or a perspective. We are of a particular race. We are born into families with political legacies. We have a belief in God, whoever it may be. We have been raised with values and norms.

We come from villages, towns, regions or islands. We attended a school. We belong to a class and we have a view on our sexuality. All these factors colour our minds even before we undertake the task of covering an assignment.

So…how neutral and unbiased are we really? Is it a good thing to have a point of view or should we just be fence sitters?

Many of our media houses have been started, financed and managed with a political agenda. Yet somehow we as journalists are expected to maintain the values of balance, objectivity and be free of interference.

How do we fulfil the mandate or mantra of our bosses so we can get paid at the end of the assignment and at the same time uphold the tenets of a free press?

Are we expected to just appear of out the clouds, untainted, untarnished and pure?

How are we to temper our persuasion? How are we to channel our dogma? How are we to acknowledge our bias? In essence, how are to deal with who we are?

I am no psychologist nor have I read “Psychology: Made Simple.” However, I have been troubled by this issue.
We all as journalists come from somewhere, as we are products of our own communities and our societies. Therefore, we are shaped and hewn by the constant chiselling, or the eroding, of some part of us.

We are on different stages of the continuum. Our paths to where we are today are different, though we sometimes walk together for varying reasons, circumstances and times.

Have we reached the point where we can reconcile our biases with our ideals and come to a common ground?

MATT encourages opinions and commentary from the local journalism fraternity that consider and address issues relevant to the community and the practice in this country and the wider Caribbean.

About the author.

Clayton began his journalism career in 2005 covering the Tobago House of Assembly Elections for i95.5 FM and later that year the Carifta Games in his native Tobago. He credits Dale Enoch and the i95 team for providing the foundation for his interest and growth in media.
He began writing with Trinidad Guardian in 2010. In 2012, he returned to Tobago to work with Radio Tambrin for one year. He had stints in the Communications Department of Division of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports from 2013 to 2016.
He rejoined i95.5 from 2018 and Radio Tambrin from 2019 to present.
He has also worked with Newsday, Tobago Channel Five, KLAS Sports Radio and Track Alerts (Jamaica), Nevis and Bahamas Athletics websites.
He has covered assignments in the Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos, El Salvador, Venezuela, India and South Korea.

Follow him on Facebook at Kairibellesports, Instagram (clay_clar1240) and Twitter (Repototrack). He can also be reached by email.