The crying journalist

The aim of this study is to examine how the public responds to the journalists’ use of subjectivity in the reporting of broadcasting news. The investigation is a qualitative study based on nine interviews with respondents in ages of 21 to 25 from different parts of Sweden. After showing five examples of news reporting with a subjective approach, the respondents gave their look on the use of subjectivity. The theoretical frame of the investigation is founded on the theory of framing (de Vreese, 2005; Entman, 1993) and the discussion concerning the terms objectivity and subjectivity (e.g. Westerståhl, 1972). The investigation shows that the respondents saw the use of subjectivity in news reporting as something that made them able to connect and identify to the news and the journalist. It also showed that the news was made more comprehensible. The investigation, on the other hand, also showed that the respondents felt like the journalists made assumptions for them. Irrespective of the reaction, the investigation showed clear results of the fact that the respondents own values was an underlying factor in their stance to subjectivity.