Objectivity and Balance Research White Papers
The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 mandates that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting facilitate the development of a system that will make programs available "with strict adherence to objectivity and balance." The statute further charges CPB's Board of Directors with establishing a "comprehensive policy and set of procedures" that, among other things, provide for regular review of national public broadcasting programming for objectivity and balance. However, CPB is also prohibited by this same statue from determining programs' content. In navigating between these directives, CPB has not always satisfied all observers.
In October of 2007, CPB announced a Request for Proposals on seven mutually-exclusive research topics regarding objectivity and balance in public broadcasting.
The following research white papers are available now. Future white papers will be posted to this page as they become available.
Research White Papers
- The Accountable Guardian: Concepts in Tension - The Challenge of Ensuring both Objectivity and Balance and Editorial Independence
by Jeffrey A. Dvorkin and Alan G. Stavitsky, Ph.D., 158KB - Best Practices in Assessing Objectivity and Balance
by Alan G. Stavitsky, Ph.D. and Jeffrey A. Dvorkin, 129KB - Objectivity and Balance: Conceptual and Practical History in American Journalism
by Alan G. Stavitsky, Ph.D. and Jeffrey A. Dvorkin, 159KB - Objectivity & Balance: How Do Readers and Viewers of News and Information Reach Conclusions Regarding Objectivity and Balance?
by Natalie Jomini Stroud, Ph.D. and Stephen D. Reese, Ph.D., 158KB - Objectivity & Balance: Today's Best Practices in American Journalism
by Joel Kaplan, 401KB - Public Media: Journalism When Government Supports the Enterprise
by Jeffrey A. Dvorkin and Alan G. Stavitsky, Ph.D., 131KB - Expectations for Objectivity and Balance in Multi-Platform Distribution: Traditional and New Media
by Joel Kaplan, 263KB