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One of the most important and controversial principles of journalism and media in general is objectivity, and that when it comes to informing the public of event's that "already" happened, because there can't be absolute objectivity, humans are not computers, they can't completely isolate themselves from the influence of their emotions, whether they acknowledge it or not, they will be biased inside, they will have a point of view, they will have an opinion, and they will have a "side", you will eventually have to make decision, you will have to "cut" some words, and some shots, and arrange pieces of information in a certain way to deliver a story to the audience, and you can't be completely "not there" when it comes to choosing, and in my opinion, the best way to prevent the confusion here is to declare your beliefs, at any given point of the story, to the viewers, so that you can be honest in telling the story that includes even the development of point of view about the subject.

With that in mind, we can see why predicting the future will be more problematic when it comes to objectivity, because in the future there are no facts yet, there are just predictions and assumptions, maybe based on facts of today, but they will still be "processed" with a logic of a person, or an organization, that may have it's own agenda, or may want to create a trend and ride it, to gain profit or power over the public.

Media can try to foresee any danger that may harm the society, but that should still be perceived as "opinion journalism" not "news", and there shouldn't be any manipulation of predictions to affect the viewers and make them believe that this is "reality". The creators of such media must always declare their goals and intentions, and must be MORE open to show the progress of their beliefs about the subject in hands, than those in news coverage and documentations media.

If the process can be transparent and honest, and stick to the rules of opinion journalism and never claim more than that by any way, I think predicting the future can be acceptable, otherwise it can mislead the public, emphasis stereotypes and divide society into groups, each of which "fights" against a future only they can see.

In short, the responsibility of the media is to be responsible and alert, when it comes to future conflicts, because it endangers itself of becoming a blind propaganda for it's owners.

Learn more about this author, Ahmad Saeid.
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