I don't know if it's a choice. Reporters are humans, not robots, and can't help the way they feel. Being objective doesn’t mean being detached or removed; it doesn’t mean not feeling like your heart is dropping down through your stomach. A foreign correspondent once told me that he often is on the verge of crying when hearing all sort of heart-breaking stories in impoverished countries around the world. Then, the burden is on him to step back after an interview and make sure that that person was honest and didn't have an agenda. Do we doubt for a second the pain and despair of the Haitians?
--Luca

In the many trips I made to haiti over the years beginning in 1986 an outpouring of emotion was not needed. the terrible truth spoke for itself and if we reported it with accuracy and fairness no outburst was required. It might make good television but as a print reporter I never found it added anything.

jfrazier (AP-retired)

Não... Este é um dos stres pra o qual jornalista deve estar preparado. A emoção deve existir, faz parte eé benefica à cada indivíduo, mas não deve ser levada pára o conteúdo da notícia! O bom joprnalista sofre, mas procura conter as emoções, ou as revela em editorial!

¿La objetividad en el periodismo? Partiendo de que los receptores de las noticias son sujetos y no objetos, creo que la objetividad debe ser revisada. Yo soy periodista de profesión y creo que parte de las emociones y sentimientos no pueden apartarse, más cuando se trata de noticias humanas. Los sentimientos trasladan a los oyentes o televidentes a los escenarios de las tragedias. Claro, la exageración o el show es otra cosa.

César Pérez

Let me start by sharing this story of a senior colleague, he was a State correspondent(i.e posted outside the headquarters of the paper to report events in another State) for a popular newspaper in my country,Nigeria. He was covering an event when news reached him and other colleagues that a house got burnt, another news but like a journalist who was used to seeing so many mishaps, he asked nonchalantly if any body had died in the fire incident. Fortunately no life was lost, and he felt that wasn't sufficent news. Unfortunately, he got home that day to discover that the house was where he lived...In as much as we should remove sentiments from our reporting...we are still very much humans. That is why there is need for some psychotheraphy for journalists who are often reporting disasters, wars and for Haiti, honestly I shudder each time I think Haiti...oh what fate for an already impoversihed nation.
Recently I interviewed a widow who shared her experience when she lost her husband, she said it took her six years to talk about it without crying but during the interview I found myself crying...I'm only human, moreso a woman. OLUWATOYIN AKINOLA, SUN NEWSPAPER, LAGOS, NIGERIA.

Los periodistas somos los intermediarios entre el hecho y el receptor, en lo personal me enseñaron que debemos ocultar nuestras emociones a fin de no influir en la percepción de quien recibe la nota.
Como dicen los colegas, somos humanos, no robots, nuestra labor periodística también tiene una leve carga de subjetividad pero en lo posible debemos saber manejar nuestras emociones ante la cámara, o nuestra pluma, por que corremos el riesgo de parecer poco creíbles, pero sólo quien está entre escombros, polvo y olor a muerte como en Haití sabe lo que ha tenido que contener; así que es comprensible que se quiebre la voluntad del oficio.

Un saludo para todos desde México.
Lorena Villalobos Melgoza, reportero UNAM,

Los periodistas damos la información con veracidad y eso implica que tenemos que darle el dote humano y eso tiene que hacerse con desprendimiento emocional. Nuestro objetivo es llegar a un gran grupo humano de parte de otro ser humano y eso es el periodista. Utiliza el estilo periodístico pero con contenido humano.
Milagros Rodríguez- Tumbes-Peru

الموضوعية والتوازن في نقل الاحدات والاخبار واجراء تحقيقات ضرورية في العمل الصحفي وبدونها يفقد الصحفي او المؤسسة مصداقيتها الا في حالات او قصص انسانية لمصلحة عامة يمكن ان يعبرعن رأية ومشاعره لغرض حث العالم للتخفيف عن هذه المعانات الانسانية وذلك في احداث وقصص انسانية من الزلاال والفيضانات والحرائق والفقر او انشار مرض او وباء في بقعة معينة وهي قضية انسانية بحتة وهذه هي الرسالة الحقيقة وهي الرسالة الانسانية للاعلام والصحفيين
عبيدهروري- اربيل

First of all i would like to share my condolences with people of Haiti who are suffering at the moment since the powerful earthquake that struck on last Tuesday where according to officials and different sources more than 100,000 fear killed. Right from the question i would say that there is no room for reporter to express emotion and personal experience when covering crisis events, because, its can enhance news coverage and even destroy the reality and the true. What its happening at the moment in Haiti, and those collecting information and sending that there are doing giving wrong message to the people of Haiti. Lot of money is being collected around the world and the idea there is that people would receive money and aid, rather than that money is there for the reconstruction and aid for the needs. Reporter shouldn't be emotional when reporting. They should or we should always be neutral and objective and giving the information, the fact without being submerge by the emotion. Journalists are human being and must refrain themselves using any emotional attitude while on duty.Its sounds or may sound difficult but that where we journalist have to make the difference for our job in reporting. I am still have in mind the covering of the swearing of president Paul Biya in cameroon in the Parliament where senior journalist was too emotional and the other one in the desk has to remind him that he has to act as a journalist and just give listeners the fact.... Charles

Charles ATANGANA, investigative economic journalist, Edinburgh, Scotland, uk

There is an important difference between sensationalism and showing natural emotions: relevant truth. As journalists, it must be our duty, mission and purpose to provide people with information about the world. We will not get this information if people do not trust us. People often don't trust us because they see us as heartless robots. The only way to prevent this stereotype is to prove that we are affected by what we see. Remain objective? Against what? In case the earthquake has something to say? We wouldn't want to seem biased against it, now. ha.
Stay professional, yes. Be the pillar of strength and courage for a people in need, knowing that your reports do make a difference and that in the end God is in control. He knows what He is doing and will use this for His good. To turn His people back to dependence on Him and to show His healing power, that they might love Him more fully with proof of His power. I don't care what your religion is, you have to know that even in deepest tragedy, there is hope. THAT is what will get you through reporting on tragedy. Not asking why it happened, but what good can come out of it and what you can do to make it so.
People will not give to a cause they are not emotionally moved by. I'm not saying to go all PR and advocate a specific cause, but if you are reporting on a tragedy you must want it resolved. It's only natural, whether it's help for Haiti or new DUI laws after a drunk driving accident.
Consider your information a valuable tool in bringing restoration, hope and new life to these people. Perhaps THE most valuable tool.
THEN you will be able to know when to stay distanced and when to show your heart.

If they don't show their emotional reactions, the public could assume they are Republicans and not human. Merilyn

As a journalist I find myself act on emotions to go and discover or cover a story there must be a passion or emotion before you work but at work you as a journalist should never show any of the two. Alice Uganda

Hi all
I think that it is easier to quote than it is to do it. we must remember that before being a journalist, we are human being. so it's very difficult in times of of humanitarian crisis to stay journalisticly balanced. How can a journalist avoid giving a ride to a person who is wounded in natural catastrophe like in Haiti, if her or his car is the only one available that can help save this life. we can not avoid being emotional in apocalyptic situations but we make all the efforts to remain balanced in our reporting of the facts. we can be allowed expression of anger in our comments or open-eds if we notice , for instance some lack of dilgence in humanitarian operations
Gerard Guedegbe, Benin

O jornalista é antes de tudo uma pessoa com sentimentos. Então acho que é dificil senão não se deixar emocionar com algo tão desolador quanto a catastrofe no Haiti. Penso que o importante é trazer equilibrio e objectividade a história mesmo que abalado pelas emocoes. Mas exigir de um jornalista que não se emocione é pedir que ele seja uma maquina e não um ser humano.

Somos seres humanos y tenemos sentimientos, soy de Sinaloa (México) y la violencia que se vive en nuestro estado es fuerte, en ocasiones entre las personas ejecutadas hay niños los cuales no son respetados por sicarios, al escribir las notas es imposible no soltar una lagrima por una víctima inocente.

Not conveying emotion -- that is pretending to be dispassionate -- is also an emotion.The objective pretense of the news is neither objective nor is it emotionless. It is -- If you will -- a "WASP" cultural attribute. Attitudes are conveyed by being "emotionless" as well as by showing emotion. Neither is better. They reflect cultural -- and political -- differences.

The truth of the matter is that emotion is an issu of nature which must run in the vein of every living creature. Therefore, a journalist is not and cannot be spared from the grip of emotion. Need it be stressed that a journalist who is passionate about his profession needs some measure of emotion to prod him on for the purpose of attaining an end success. However, it is important for every journalist to have a sense of balancing, as in refusing to be totally driven by emotion in the course of his duties.

To me, it appears that the instant attention drawn by the international media to the sudden earthquake in Haiti, and the attendant human misfortune and tragedies suffered by the people came about with the high measure of emotion that underpinned the coverage of the incident by all the journalists on involved . So the most important thing is that every journalist should aspire to live by the ethics of Jouranalism which largely preches moderation, truth, balancing, creation of verifiable history and general entertainment of the society. In short, while a journalist cannot run away from emotional tendencies while performing his duties, he should be alive enough not to allow himself get carried away if for his output not to end up being questioned.

As a psychologist I would stronly encourage reporters to work out their emotions occuring around a tough story (prepare before and get support after the assignment) but as a media consumer, so to say, I don't like when reporters sob with their interviewees.

Как психолог, я считаю, что журналисты обязательно должны прорабатывать свои эмоции, возникающие при подготовке сложного репортажа (это относится как к подготовке к заданию, так и к действиям после: нужно получить поддержку, выговориться и т.п.). Но как потребителю СМИ мне не нравится, когда репортер рыдает вместе с тем человеком, у которого берет интервью...

Acredito que as emoções de um jornalista numa matéria só demonstram que também somos humanos. Flávia Ximenes. Manaus/Amazonas - Brasil

I personally believe we journalists are human beings.We can’t function as machine just because the one/rule says so. As long as we did not affect fact and put it accurately I think after all we are working to enlighten human life not to put some kind of information on some kind of scientific process. If we say we are to serve our public we need to compromise the interest of them. And need to be flexible and smart decision makers.
Edu

Los/as periodistas primero son humanos/as y tienen emociones. Sin embargo es el intermediario entre el hecho y el receptor, por tanto, lo mas saludable es que no transmita su opinion sobre una información, un hecho, pero sus sentimientos (inevitables) ante una tragedia como la de Haití es dificil controlar. Las informaciones sobre periodistas consternados sobre la tragedia de Haití fue al margen de la información como tragedia, pero todo el que ha estado allí, sobre todo los primeros 3 ó 5 días también se convierte en noticia. María. República Dominicana

ارى ان الصحفى مهما كان من موضوعى تغلب مشاعره عليه ولكن ممكن للصحفى انه يراعى معاير الموضوعيه ولكن منحيش مشاعره ولكن يحذر من استعمال الكلمات التى يمكن ان تؤخذ عليه وتدلل على رايه .لموضوعيه اولا فى عرض الاخبار .
ا

El periodista debe reflejar los hechos como si fuera un espejo ante la realidad. Cuando un sentimiento nos embarga frente a un desastre de magnitud, debemos procurar mantener un cierto nivel de equilibrio, al describir aspectos del desastre. Es una tarea sumamente difícil eludir los sentimientos frente a determinadas situaciones. Tal vez, la primera vez no lo podamos evitar. Pero la suma de coberturas de hechos graves, hará que el periodista haga uso de su experiencia para mantener el equilibrio, a la hora de escribir o relatar la gravedad de un suceso. Soy partidario de la tradicional práctica periodística de priorizar la objetividad antes que caer en tergiversaciones de la función de informar, aspecto éste que parece sumar adeptos todos los días.

Roberto Molina
Mar del Plata - Argentina

Journalists are human beings so yes of course they can depict emotion amongst their strong words. In cases like Haiti, where you are delivering hard news to the World, it might be rather 'unnatural' to not express emotion....how could you not when you are covering such a crisis? It's a simple thought.