"Journalists and the public often tend to identify objectivity in its
absence. Few journalists would make a claim to total neutrality or
impartiality. However, most strive toward a certain modicum of
detachment from their own personal biases in their news work. In
Discovering the News (1978), sociologist Michael Schudson argues that
"the belief in objectivity is a faith in 'facts,' a distrust in
'values,' and a commitment to their segregation." In the United
States, an objective story is typically considered to be one that
steers a middle path between two poles of political rhetoric. The
tenets of objectivity are violated to the degree to which the story
appears to favor one pole over the other.

According to some, it refers to the prevailing ideology of
newsgathering and reporting that emphasizes eyewitness accounts of
events, corroboration of facts with multiple sources and "balance." It
also implies an institutional role for journalists as a fourth estate,
a body that exists apart from government and large interest groups.
[citation needed]