WJI 2018 Blog Day 11, AM: Worldviews Unsilenced

Today, I found myself especially challenged during the morning session of the World Journalism Institute. I have never heard teaching like what I was hearing from Dr. Olasky about the ethics and parameters of being a Christian journalist.

Even though I attend a Christian college, when I take my journalism classes they teach me to be objective in my reporting. Only in the opinion section of the paper would a biblical worldview possibly come into play. Dr. Olasky explained how truly objective reporting does not exist anymore, so it is time for Christian journalists to embrace their subjectivity when they have the chance.

I have never imagined myself working for a Christian new service or writing news from a Christian perspective. Even for a feature story, maybe the subject of the feature might mention God or Christianity, but the reporter would certainly never put their worldview into a story they are writing.

Dr. Olasky explained that even if I work at a secular publication, I will have opportunities even in a feature story to present a person with a biblical worldview and highlight the life that they live. While it may not be necessarily “objective,” it is still true journalism because people will know that I come into the story with that perspective and because ultimately God and his world is the basis for truth.

I wish my school had taught me this in the first journalism class I ever took. I should not let my worldview be silenced in my writing in the search of eliminating any bias or personal opinion, but rather I can use my worldview to shape the stories that I am able to tell as I highlight the world that God has made.