#MeToo. #BlackLivesMatter. #NeverAgain. #WontBeErased. Though both the
right- and left-wing media claim “objectivity” in their reporting of
these and other contentious issues, the American public has become
increasingly cynical about truth, fact, and reality. In The View from Somewhere,
Lewis Raven Wallace dives deep into the history of “objectivity” in
journalism and how its been used to gatekeep and silence marginalized
writers as far back as Ida B. Wells.
At its core, this is a
book about fierce journalists who have pursued truth and transparency
and sometimes been punished for it—not just by tyrannical governments
but by journalistic institutions themselves. He highlights the stories
of journalists who question “objectivity” with sensitivity and passion:
Desmond Cole of the Toronto Star; New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse; Pulitzer Prize-winner Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah; Peabody-winning podcaster John Biewen; Guardian correspondent Gary Younge; former Buzzfeed reporter
Meredith Talusan; and many others. Wallace also shares his own
experiences as a midwestern transgender journalist and activist who was
fired from his job as a national reporter for public radio for speaking
out against “objectivity” in coverage of Trump and white supremacy.
With insightful steps through history, Wallace stresses that
journalists have never been mere passive observers—the choices they make
reflect worldviews tinted by race, class, gender, and geography. He
upholds the centrality of facts and the necessary discipline of
verification but argues against the long-held standard of “objective”
media coverage that asks journalists to claim they are without bias.
Using historical and contemporary examples—from lynching in the
nineteenth century to transgender issues in the twenty-first—Wallace
offers a definitive critique of “objectivity” as a catchall for accurate
journalism. He calls for the dismissal of this damaging mythology in
order to confront the realities of institutional power, racism, and
other forms of oppression and exploitation in the news industry.
Now more than ever, journalism that resists extractive, exploitive, and
tokenistic practices toward marginalized people isn’t just important—it
is essential. Combining Wallace’s intellectual and emotional journey
with the wisdom of others’ experiences, The View from Somewhere
is a compelling rallying cry against journalist neutrality and for the
validity of news told from distinctly subjective voices.