Question

which of the following statements best characterizes the traditional news medias relationship to objectivity?
given that completely objective reporting is unattainable because people inevitably have biases that shape their understanding of events, journalists do not attempt to be objective and report only one side of a story.
although completely objective reporting is unattainable because people inevitably have biases that shape their understanding of events, journalists attempt to be objective by reporting both sides of a story.
journalists are trained to be objective in their reporting, so their personal biases rarely matter and their coverage of events almost always succeeds in objectively presenting both sides of a story.
the federal communications commission requires that all journalists sign a \pledge of objectivity\ before being employed at a media company.

Explanation:

• The first option is incorrect because journalists do attempt to be objective despite biases.
• The third option is incorrect as personal biases can still influence reporting and complete objectivity is hard to achieve.
• The fourth option is incorrect as there is no such "pledge of objectivity" requirement by the Federal Communications Commission.
• The second option is correct as it acknowledges that while complete objectivity is unattainable (due to human biases), journalists still strive for objectivity by reporting both sides.

Answer:

Although completely objective reporting is unattainable because people inevitably have biases that shape their understanding of events, journalists attempt to be objective by reporting both sides of a story.