Advocacy Journalism in Western Europe and Spain
Advocacy Journalism is a type of journalism that for some social or political purpose, intentionally uses and adopts a transparent non-objective viewpoint. Since advocacy journalism is partisan, it is traditionally restricted to the sections of journalism that allow this type of writing such as editorials, opinion sections or op-ed pages. This is the reason why advocacy journalism differs with news reports, since news reports are intended to be unbiased and bi-partisan.
Even though it is known that there is no literal form of objective reporting because without intention, a writer almost always unconsciously includes some sort of subjectivity just in the way of their writing and in their voice, but advocacy journalists purposely reject objectivity for several reasons. Other than advocacy journalism, although purely objective writing is almost impossible, a way journalists can consider pure objection to be attainable is by seeking neutrality and minimizing bias in the writing.
Those in the field, although are in favor of freedom of speech, fear that through the activity of advocacy journalists, the reputation of the mainstream press as an objective, reliable source of information will be hindered. Although the facts presented in the advocacy journalists’ writings are accurate, it is feared that uninformed or indifferent readers will accept the opinions embedded in the writing as facts because they are surrounded by accurate facts, resulting in misinformed readers.
As here in the United States, where we as society know which news stations and publications side on the political spectrum, in Western Europe the same problem applies.
