The concept of "objectivity" suggests that facts are selected and constructed according to formal rules by professional journalists. A comparison of American and Soviet concepts of news leads to the observation that both share similar claims to objectivity. The similarity defies whether objectivity assumes the form of facts detached from values in the American case, or sociopolitical information in accordance with "objective" historical laws in the Soviet counterpart. While the American concept of news presents itself in such a way that its ideological function is implicit, the Soviet concept of news is defined in such a way that its ideological function is explicit. In spite of the apparent contrast, the claims to objectivity in both cases serve to legitimize the trend toward the concentration of access by media industries in the United States and by the State in the Soviet Union. (Author/HTH)