Objectivity as a shield: Journalistic voice and the strategic use of quotation in Iranian newspapers

Abstract

This paper identifies and analyses a distinctive journalistic practice in Iranian political news reporting, termed the “projecting voice”. This practice, observed in reports from both conservative ( Kayhan ) and reformist ( Etemaad ) newspapers, involves a near-complete absence of explicit authorial/journalist opinion, where the journalist functions primarily as a conduit for the quoted statements of high-status sources. Using a discourse-analytical approach, this study argues that the “projecting voice” is not simply passive reporting, but a strategic ritual of impersonality in service of “objective” reporting. This ritual serves as a risk-management device, allowing journalists to navigate institutional pressures while creating a veneer of objectivity. This might be due to political reasons and the sensitivity around political topics and leaders. The paper concludes that this practice challenges conventional Western models of journalistic objectivity and provides a crucial case study of how professional norms are adapted in authoritarian media environments.