Most of us think news should be impartial. A recent worldwide poll found 75% favour neutrality and claim to choose the news provider they think most in line with the truth. But many argue impartiality is not achievable and the claim risks hiding propaganda under the guise of truth. Respected Western media outlets such as the BBC, CBS, The Times, Washington Post, don't look impartial viewed from Tehran, Bejing and Moscow. Nor does their coverage of WWII look impartial if read today.

Should we conclude that all media sources inevitably carry a particular perspective and claims of impartiality are false? Would we be better to see all media as partisan but require from their different partisan outlooks a determination to cover events factually from their point of view? Or is impartiality still a valuable goal even if it can never be achieved?


Outspoken politics professor, Matthew Goodwin, former speechwriter to Tony Blair and columnist for The Times Philip Collins and media and cultural historian, Sophie Scott-Brown, debate media impartiality. Florence Read hosts.