Where is the balance?

It is a well-known fact that journalists MUST be objective and the information in the news and reports has to be balanced. We often complain about broadcast media because it is bias and controlled by one of the Media Conglomerates. And it is definitely true. Be it Disney, General Electric or any other media giant all the media outlets it owns work for its name and interests. And the same situation with small media companies. Independent media at the same time is considered to be the opposite and to present equal flow of information on different issues all around the world. And yes, it is true as well. Blogs and social networks give people more opportunities to educate themselves and to find opinions of different sources and sides in the conflict. But bloggers also often present only one side of the story that relies to their own preferences or ideas. The only difference is that if you don’t agree with the blogger’s position you can always switch to one of millions other blogs in the Web or even find critics in the comments after the blog. You can easily go to the link provided by the blogger to make his or her blog objective, to tell the readers “My information is balanced. Look! I provided the link to my opponent’s blog. His information is a total lie (unlike mine, which is complete truth), but I am objective and I always present both sides of the story.” And that’s it.
Of course in many cases bloggers are indeed more truthful, but only if they are not dependent on any kind of private sponsors, who wouldn’t like this or that kind of information. In this case blog becomes the same media outlet as the broadcast media, with the same rules and censorship. That’s why it is so important for Independent media not to relay on any kind of sponsors, who might use the media outlet for their own interests. It is also important to open the information about your income to the public if you are an independent journalist. Because readers have a right to know who sponsors the blog in order to understand what idea it supports or who it is connected to. Today, online media outlets still haven’t figure out how to make the same profit online as they do with broadcast media. That’s why online journalists look for any kind of money to support their work. But if they will allow this “big sponsors” to enter Independent online media sphere it might become controlled and censored just like any other media in the country. In Ukraine we say “Orders the music the one that pays for it.” It is very important to realize that. Sponsors are the owners of the outlet de-facto and if they set up the rules in the Web there will be no chance to develop Independent media in the country.