Journalism involves the creation and dissemination of information about current events, facts, concepts and individuals deemed newsworthy, playing a key role in keeping society informed with a reasonable degree of accuracy. According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 20.9 million articles—both digital and print—are circulated each day, with the newspaper industry generating an impressive annual revenue of $11.9 billion. As a rapidly expanding industry, journalism reaches millions of people worldwide on a daily basis. Given the vast scale of this sector, it’s essential to consider whether the media being shared is truly free from bias.

Bias can often mislead readers, leading them to adopt viewpoints or ideologies they might not otherwise embrace, had they not been swayed in that direction. This can undermine the credibility and reliability of the information being presented.

Eric Larsen, executive editor at IndyStar, argues that bias is an unavoidable element in journalism.

“Everyone has bias, so no work is truly free of it,” Larsen said. “Even choosing to write one story over another involves a level of bias in deciding what the author thinks will be important to readers.”

Claire Burke, communications teacher and Pinnacle yearbook advisor, expressed a similar view. She pointed out that the process she follows as yearbook advisor is distinct from that of traditional news organizations. Due to the yearbook’s specific purpose and audience, bias is an inevitable factor.

“(Pinnacle is) biased towards Carmel High School and the people from Carmel High School,” Burke explained. “You’re going to see that throughout the publication, and that’s just the nature of what we do. And I think if we tried to remain totally unbiased, by traditional journalistic standards, we’d lose our audience.”

Avika Rajmane, Pinnacle yearbook staff member and sophomore, believes that bias is an intrinsic part of reporting, even in factual stories, not just opinion pieces. Like Burke, she acknowledged that maintaining bias is crucial in order to engage and retain an intended audience.

Despite these challenges, many journalists take careful steps to ensure that bias does not appear where it isn’t intended. Rajmane shared that the Pinnacle staff undergoes an extensive process to verify the accuracy and credibility of their content.

“To make sure everything is correct, we fact-check everything an obscene amount of times,” Rajmane said. “The staff and I double-check that all names are spelled correctly, that they match the right photos and that all event information is accurate. We even ensure that interviews correspond with the submitted voice recordings.”

Burke expanded on Rajmane’s point, emphasizing that a collaborative effort can reduce personal bias, as multiple perspectives are brought into the process. She also outlined specific steps taken to minimize bias when it’s unnecessary.

“Number one, be conscious of your biases. Number two, I think journalism is a team effort—getting as many eyes on a story as possible. And number three, making sure we don’t put our reporters in conflict of interest situations. Understanding your staff and being aware of their outside interests is crucial to ensuring unbiased reporting,” Burke said.

In traditional journalism, the process of mitigating bias differs somewhat. Larsen explained that the focus is on ensuring the information is both accurate and fair. Did the report tell the full story, incorporating diverse voices and viewpoints? Did it consider the potential impact on different audiences? Was the information presented impartially, without the journalist’s commentary? These are the guiding principles of objective journalism, and serve as key checks against bias creeping into factual reporting. As long as a story meets these criteria, it can be considered accurate, fair and relatively free of bias.

Larsen emphasized the importance of distinguishing between news and commentary. When the lines between these two types of journalism blur, the story risks losing its objectivity. Journalists, according to Larsen, must strive to ensure their reporting is purely factual, and opinion pieces should be clearly labeled for readers.

“At the end of the day, being a reporter means knowing you’re not the story,” Larsen said. “You’re the storyteller, presenting the information you’ve gathered from your sources. A good reporter gets out of the way and presents what they’ve found in a clear, concise manner.”

Journalism involves numerous layers of precautions and procedures to ensure that news is delivered accurately and without undue bias.

“Anyone who tells you they are truly unbiased is a liar,” Larsen concluded. “We are all fundamentally influenced by our lived experiences. To be a good journalist, you must set aside those experiences, recognizing that they are not universal, and seek understanding of other perspectives. Facts are facts. Two plus two still equals four. Science is real. But our job is also to fairly chronicle the perspectives of people impacted by each day’s news. By approaching the work with an open mind, cultural sensitivity and impartiality, we are able to tell the story as truthfully as possible.”