Hvad er fairness?

Abstract

When debating journalism the word “fairness” is commonly used as an ideal the media should strive for. But what does this word actually mean? The authors have scrutinized the newest literature on the area and interviewed ten Danish chief-editors on their perception of fairness. The result of the survey provides the same picture as the literature: Fairness is perceived almost synonymously with strived objectivity. It is, however, a widespread attitude that fairness is broader and therefore can be considered an umbrella-term containing classic virtues as neutrality, balance and sense of proportion and genre. In the light of the many different definitions, the authors conclude that the term fairness is too abstract and inaccurate to be used constructively in journalistic debates.