WORLD Magazine / Prodigal Press / Chapter Four Man's
Subjectivity vs. God's Plumb Line  Prodigal Press cover
"Objectivity" has been a major goal of twentieth-century
American journalism. New York Times editor Sydney Gruson
demanded "purity of the news columns. Pure objectivity might not
exist, but you have to strive for it anyway.''[1] Associated
Press General Manager Wes Gallagher argued that "all men and
women must have a Holy Grail of some kind, something to strive
for, something always just beyond our fingertips even with the
best of efforts. To the journalists that Holy Grail should be
objectivity."[2]  Textbooks and codes of ethics still insist
upon "objectivity." Yet, the concept has been under attack since
the 1960s, first by fringe groups of "new journalists," now by
those thrusting microphones in power-laden corridors. Robert
Bazell of NBC, interviewed in 1986, said flatly, "Objectivity is
a fallacy.... There are different opinions, but you don't have
to give them equal weight." Irxing R. Levine of