My local newscasts are becoming more and more unabashedly biased in their reporting.  It's an obvious attempt to counter the competition from opinionated blogs, social media, and other electronic channels of news.  Some might argue that objectivity has been waining for years with the rise of 24-hour news networks that fill their timeslots with left-leaning or right-leaning pundits.  Some might argue that objectivity was always a sham, that all reporting has some level of underlying bias no matter how vehemently their editorial policy aims to be impartial -- the selection of stories to cover, the wording of headlines, the placement and layout all add up to some bias, whether blatant or subtle, whether intentional or subconscious.  Nevertheless, in the last few years alone it see appears as if news broadcasters are abandoning any pretense of journalism's golden mantle of objectivity and embrasing a new style of in-your-face emotions and opinions. 

Here in New York, WPIX (Channel 11) has completely revamped its news format, adding fiery commentary segments by Greg Mocker (wearing his attacks on the MTA or others as badges of honor) and the bombastic "Lionel" (whose written blog is nowhere near as over-the-top as his televised pieces.)  On FOX-5 (WNYW), they don't even bother to call their on-air talent "reporters" or "journalists" anymore -- their Website lists them as "personalities," like Anne Craig who covers entertainment in giddy fan-girl fashion.  It even fills its airtime with comedians roaming the streets of New York videotaping passersby -- no real news value, just laughs.

I'm not saying this is all necessarily a bad thing.  The staples of television newscasts have become stagnant cliches and could use some shaking up, but the results so far seem amateurish.  We shall see if it results in higher ratings, but is it worth it if we lose the positive goals of objectivity in journalism?  Some of us still want our reporters to at least try to hide their personal biases and just give us the facts so we can ask questions and draw our own conclusions.