In our reply to Piers Robinson, below, we try to show how 'objective scholarship', like 'objective journalism', all too often filters out what really matters. Moreover, as in journalism, the scholar's obsession with objectivity tends to promote the interests of power. Why? Because mainstream academics and journalists are deeply and unconsciously biased. They notice subjective opinion that hurts power because power is on hand to make them aware, in no uncertain terms, with high-level complaints, legal threats, political flak and other attacks. When subjective opinion promotes power no-one notices because peace reigns supreme.
A superb example was provided in John Pilger's new film, The War You Don't See. The BBC's Head of Newsgathering, Fran Unsworth, told Pilger: "it's the BBC's duty to scrutinise what it is that people [leaders] say; we're not there to accuse them of lying, though, because that's a judgement..."
And this would be fine, but for the fact that the BBC clearly is willing to laud these same leaders to the skies! Nobody notices that this also constitutes "a judgement" because people with the ability to hurt the media stay silent. This is a major reason why ostensibly objective journalists and scholars so consistently drift towards "the centre-left ground" (to use the polite term). It is a key issue in academia, as in journalism, and needs to be discussed. We replied to Piers Robinson on December 14:
