Losing Objective Reporting Would Suck!

Earlier today, CNN and NY Times had perfectly contradicting headlines for what was supposed to be the same news report:

Times: F.C.C. Chief Backs Sanctions Against Comcast Over Blocking
CNN: FCC Chairman Recommends No Fine for Comcast

It's interesting how opinion and interpretation can affect perception.

With increasing globalization and the Internet becoming the primary source of news, I often notice news stories take a life of their own as they spread through different media channels. It's harder today than it was a few years ago to find objective reports - reporters/bloggers increasingly tend to state facts that are inter-twined with opinion. In many ways, blogs need to be this way in order to allow conversations to continue (blog post + comments = conversation) but it is unfortunate that traditional media outlets also increasingly feel the need to add opinion and personal biases to news reports.

Traditional media is still very far behind the blogosphere when it comes to mixing opinion with facts, but I think it would be unfortunate if the current converging trend here holds for long. Without objective reporting, there would only ever be a bunch of opinions floating around, and people would lose their ability to form personal opinions which today derive from facts.