Covering news fairly

Journalism is about journalistic objectivity. Journalistic objectivity means that, as journalists, we must cover ever aspect of a story devoid of opinion. We must cover every side of that story, which means covering every differing opinion about the issue — regardless of how we personally may feel or what side we may be on.

In essence, we take a step back from ourselves to present the facts as they are. We present the issue. We represent those that agree with the issue. We represent those that disagree with the issue. We even represent those with no opinion. Not only do we state that some are for or some are against, but we let them speak. We let them voice their reasons behind their view.

We do this in an effort to be fair. We want to create a newspaper that is fair. We want readers and the subjects — the institutions and people that are the subjects of these stories — to have all the facts, to know all the differing views, to understand the full scope of what is really going on.

The issues that arise in a community affect everyone, and they affect everyone differently. We understand this, and we want to give everyone a voice. Every individual deserves a chance to voice what matters to them and why.

Not only is it about representing the whole of the community, but it is also about the readers. We want the readers to understand what is going on. We want to give them the most complete version of the story, so they too can form their own views and opinions. We never want to try to sway a reader to think one way over another. We simply want to educate and inform. We want to let the people handle the rest.

This is why both sides — every side — of every story is important to tell.