Journalism's New Ideal?

[Commentary] The "era of objectivity", grounded in the once-sacred ideal of Journalistic Objectivity, may be over. But before we decry the end of an era, we should actually celebrate this moment—and the accompanying crucible of the industry’s restructuring—as an opportunity for democracy. Journalism, and those who love it, can now turn the page to a new ideal: legitimacy.

If you remove the self-delusion of Objectivity, you still have a legitimate product, appealing to a discernible audience. Anything from a blog to an international news network has to earn its legitimacy by practice, not through inheritance or the money to buy a local TV station. Legitimacy is an ideal separate from the simple crucible of market demand. Market success won’t be a shield to help carry you through unpopular reporting, or even a mistake, but legitimacy will. Legitimacy also fosters credibility, considered the coin of the realm by journalists. While credibility can be episodic (a single report of something previously unknown) or personal (a doctor reporting on medical news; a well-connected political reporter), legitimacy is more institutional and also typically assigned to the management or ownership of a news organization.