Contextual objectivity is a principle with roots in
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...
that was adapted and applied to explain and describe the operations of
news media
The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc.
History
Some of the fir ...
organizations during times of
war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
. Proposed by
Adel Iskandar and
Mohammed El-Nawawy in their analysis of
Al-Jazeera
Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pr ...
as a case study, the term expresses the attempt "to reflect all sides of any story while retaining the values, beliefs and sentiments of the target audience". The concept has been applied by some scholars to explain
Fox News Channel
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
's news programming in the 2002–2003 run-up to the
Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. Other studies used contextual objectivity to describe differences between
mainstream media
In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large Mass media, mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Noam Chomsky, Choms ...
and alternative ethnic media's coverage of post-
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
relief efforts.
References
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* Al-Jazeera: The Story of the Network that is Rattling Governments and redefining modern journalism, Adel Iskandar and Mohammed El-Nawawy
The Minotaur of 'Contextual Objectivity': War coverage and the pursuit of accuracy with appeal*
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Journalism
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