Journalists have created techniques, such as the inverted-pyramid style of reporting, the careful attribution of sources, minimal use of adverbs and adjectives, and a detached third-person point of view, to help them maintain objectivity in their writing. In fact, many modern journalists believe that their credibility derives from personal detachment.

As media critic Jon Katz points out, neutrality in journalism actually developed as a marketing device. After newspapers began to mass market themselves, publishers mutated from journalists into businessmen, and they were eager to reach the broadest number of readers and antagonize the fewest. Objectivity helps protect the status quo and keeps journalists’ voices moderate. However, “neutral” journalism is still a selective process-reporters and editors turn some events into reports and discard many others. In fact, the process of journalism remains governed by a deeper set of subjective beliefs that can never be neutral.