Even if, as is generally the case, everything that the ad says about the product is scrupulously honest, or at any rate scrupulously avoids outright dishonesty, the implication of the direct address of most commercials – that the announcer speaks with the viewer’s welfare at heart – is fraudulent.

It should be apparent that the belief in objectivity in journalism, as in other professions, is not just a claim about what kind of knowledge is reliable. It is also a moral philosophy, a declaration of what kind of thinking one should engage in, in making moral decisions. It is, moreover, a political commitment, for it provides a guide to what groups one should acknowledge as relevant audiences for judging one’s own thoughts and acts.

Objectivity, in this sense, means that a person’s statements about the world can be trusted if they are submitted to established rules deemed legitimate by a professional community. Facts here are not aspects of the world, but consensually validated statements about it.

American advertisers rely on ‘essentially illogical’ approaches to determine their advertising budgets.

The story of journalism, on a day-to-day basis, is the story of the interaction of reporters and officials.

Buy me and you will overcome the anxieties I have just reminded you of.

Sales may lead to advertising as much as advertising leads to sales.

The story of journalism, on a day-to-day basis, is the story of the interaction of reporters and officials

Even if, as is generally the case, everything that the ad says about the product is scrupulously honest, or at any rate scrupulously avoids outright dishonesty, the implication of the direct address of most commercials - that the announcer speaks with the viewer's welfare at heart - is fraudulent.

Buy me and you will overcome the anxieties I have just reminded you of