COMMENT | Two news articles piqued my interest recently. One was about Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil commenting on how the government handles and treats members of the media, the other was about veteran journalist A Kadir Jasin saying that journalists must keep power at arm’s length.

In a nutshell, Fahmi was responding to critics who say the government is trying to control the media. He said they do not want to do so, and the situation is much better than it was before this government took over.

The minister even made a tongue-in-cheek comment that they provide massage chairs for reporters.

Following this, Kadir said that journalists cannot get too comfortable with the leaders in power because it could influence and undermine their ability to be critical or analytical when the time comes. They need to keep the government at arm’s length to stay objective.

This brings us to the importance of objectivity in journalism.

Many, including Kadir, believe there needs to be objectivity in journalism, where journalists do not take sides while reporting so that all perspectives are thoroughly explored and presented.

I believe this too, to a certain degree...