1. Should Factual writing contain bias?
Factual writing is one of the most common styles of writing and examples of it include local,
regional, national and international news stories; these stories should describe an event
without using subjective descriptions or assuming that the reader feels a certain way about
the event.
This of course does not happen, but there are guidelines and regulations such as the ones
put forward by the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) to try and ensure that their members
write only unbiased and fair writing. Many people believe that journalists should merely
present all the information from a story and the opinion should then be formed by the
reader, but even if they do not explicitly give their own opinion in the piece a journalist will
often present more information that supports one side of a story and not present a
balanced argument.
When reporting for certain things this can be a problem, for example a journalist who does
not agree with or like illegal immigrants writing about a story and shedding a very negative
light on them could shape the opinions of readers. This can cause a negative effect on
society as more people not liking illegal immigrants will often lead to a higher amount of
people not liking any immigrants progressing to foreigners as a whole leading to an increase
in racism, attacks and a sense of discrimination in some areas.
When bias becomes the most manipulative and sly I believe is when a reporter shares their
opinion without stating that it is their opinion. Presenting more information for their side of
the argument and missing out compelling counter arguments is just one of the many
techniques used to do this. If someone believes that they are reading a balanced, fair
argument they are more likely to form a strong opinion that they think is there own.
I believe factual writing should explain a series of events in a chronological, unbiased way
that allows readers to gain information that is not influenced by the personal opinions of
the writer or publisher. This is especially the case in news stories reporting on important and
often fragile topics that the opinion of the public is very instrumental and a negative
attitude could cause problems.
However with more trivial, less serious reporting, if a journalist presents a fair, balanced
argument followed at the end with their own opinion in a way that does not call for others
to follow, I think this can be acceptable.