ABSTRACT
When we study media – and in particular, when we examine the assumptions and practices of journalism – we often interrogate the concept of objectivity, questioning whether it is possible for the media to report events in a truly objective manner. Although this concept has come to designate a specific set of principles within journalism (for instance, reporting news fairly, factually and in a disinterested manner) and a complementary set of practices, objectivity is at its core a philosophical concept – one that relates directly to the questions of epistemology (i.e. the scope and limitations of human knowledge) that have been asked from the ancient Greeks onwards. In this chapter then, we will attempt to outline some of the crucial ways in which objectivity has been conceived in the Western philosophical tradition.
