Debate about balanced reporting is again focusing on the extremes. There are overtly partisan cable news outlets, algorithm-driven silos, and the blurring of fact and opinion in the news. These things are obvious. But concentrating on them alone risks obscuring a bigger problem which is a gradual erosion of journalistic discipline in everyday reporting, including coverage much closer to home.
Balance is often seen as a demand for equal airtime. That has never been my understanding of it. In my experience, balanced reporting is really about providing context. Audiences need to get enough information to form their own judgments and reporters must ensure that when individuals or organisations are criticized, they are given a reasonable opportunity to respond. Without those elements, a story may be factually accurate, yet still incomplete.
A recent local example brought this into focus for me. A report on an important issue featured a detailed interview with one of the people involved with no information or reply from the organisation at the centre of the criticism. As a result, audiences were left with a single narrative, presented as sufficient.
I do not see this as a question of intent. I know that today’s journalists are working under intense pressure, with fewer resources and more deadlines than ever before. But while time pressure explains why discipline slips, I don’t believe it excuses it. And, when the discipline of seeking opposing perspectives falls away, omission begins to take the form of bias. Understanding is shaped less by what is said than by what is left out.
Distrust in the News Media
This matters because audiences don’t always know what they are missing. Without access to the full context, people are guided towards one conclusion that they might not have held if given the full picture. Over time, this trend will progress the increasing distrust of the news media.
I believe responsibility here rests first with journalists and is reinforced by editors and newsroom leadership. The habit of asking “who deserves the chance to respond?” should remain non-negotiable, even when it complicates a story or slows publication. Clarity about whether a piece is actually news or just opinion matters more than ever.
I offer these thoughts not as a critic of journalism, but as someone who has spent years working alongside journalists and who respects their work.
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