In June MSNBC’s Bill Dedman revealed the political donations made between 2004 and the first quarter of 2007 by 143 journalists from all over the country working in various media. Despite the revelations of which politicians journalists support, the most interesting finding to me involves two public radio broadcasters.

NPR newscaster Corey Flintoff explained to Dedman that his wife was the one who donated about $600 to Howard Dean’s presidential campaign in 2003 and said that a blogger who called this information to NPR’s attention led his employer to restrict its journalists from donating or participating in politics. Flintoff asserts that he follows this policy scrupulously.

In contrast, former WAMU (the American University sponsored affiliate in DC) reporter Susan Goodman, who donated to a variety of Democratic candidates, proudly stands by her actions, especially since she didn’t cover those races. When asked if a news organization prohibited her from participating in politics she retorted, “I wouldn’t work at a place like that. I don’t think you should give up your rights as a citizen if you work as a journalist.”

I agree with Goodman.
(read more after the jump)

In some cases news organizations value objectivity over transparency while stifling their journalists from exercising their rights as citizens, and as a news junkie I feel that this is wrong. It seems to me at times that journalistic objectivity renders journalists impotent to protect their credibility and ability to promote good.

While I demand journalists provide a balanced view of a story, it is humanly impossible to achieve true objectiveness. To not openly admit this is naive; thus, transparency is better than objectivity.

Transparency helps both the journalist and audience. Now that I know that both Flintoff and Goodman have Democratic leanings, I can better assess their reporting. This knowledge empowers me. Further, such transparency increases the onus on these journalists to more attentively draft their reporting since an audience has a valid reason to question them.

While news organizations’ commitment to objectivity appears responsible, I think it reflects the exact opposite at times. Transparency connotes responsibility since it forces an organization to publicly account for all of its actions and motivations. So why do news organizations tout objectivity over transparency? Perhaps news organizations shield their laziness to closely monitor reporting that transparency would require with supposed devotion to objectivity. Stifling and concealing personal biases seems easier than controlling it.

I think I’m capable enough to handle potential bias, and it is not up to an editor, producer, or news executive to determine otherwise. In fact, that is quiet insulting. What I do need help with is understanding how journalists feel about various issues since I know it is impossible, unreasonable, and inhuman to expect them not to care.

Another side effect of journalistic objectivity is that it strips capable and competent individuals of supporting benevolent causes — political or not. News organizations typically don’t want to defend a journalist favoring a certain party over another, but why prevent journalists, of which some are dopey but not most, who are perhaps expert communicators, organizers, and motivators from fostering positive action? Would supporting a political candidate who aims to improve a city’s crime rate likely threaten the flow of news stories? Does supporting any altruistic organization lessen the bad news that perpetuates profits from news?

Don’t get me wrong, I do feel that transparency and objectively can harmoniously coexist, but transparency should trump.

Transparency enables journalists to do their jobs while demanding more responsibility. It also enables them to freely exercise their rights to participate in politics and support important causes and not just that of their spouses.

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Steve Peteson is currently working for a web development firm as a search engine optimizer (SEO) — one who tries to avoid shady practices like spamming. His personal interests include journalism, politics, economics, and international affairs and he writes about them all at his blog.