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Media Bias In The Media

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2016’s presidential campaign along with the campaign trail that leading up to it, brought the long existing issue of media bias our society, into the light. For generations, the American people and all who live in our nation have relied on platforms of mass media, such as the news, to inform them of the events occurring in the world, and for generations people have listened to media that is meant to be unbiased—so what changed? While there are some well-known media outlets whose bias is traditional and understood (such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal) and some outlets for whom bias is part of the business model (such as Fox News), in most cases, bias is really based upon the perception of the media consumer. In other words, people are looking for affirmation of their existing beliefs, and see media outlets that don’t give them affirmation as biased. With the use of personal testimony as well as Ph.D. research, and class lectures I will discuss that while we believe the media itself is biased, it is actually just how we interpret the news and information we take in, and answer the question, has the media’s level of bias changed? The answer is no, human perception and sensitivity have. A number of scientific studies have documented evidence supporting the idea that while there is bias, and has been for decades, it is not on behalf of the mass media in the United States, but rather of the individuals whose personal values and beliefs may clash with the

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