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
The media are bias mainly because news sources all have their own political agendas they’re trying to push. There are Republican news sources and Democratic news sources that people watch to gather information they want to hear. Although the information given out can be true, it can be one-sided as well and not show all viewpoints to a story. The media have been bias for a while and will continue to be biased because the media wants the audience to have the same beliefs as them. In a video from Stossel in the Classroom, Are You A Biased TV Viewer?, Bernie Goldberg, a CBS insider, explains that there is biased in the media and it is mostly liberal. Bernie Goldberg came out with a book named “Bias” in 1996 explaining that there is bias in the media and being a CBS insider, he obviously knows something the people don’t. Goldberg lost many friends during the release of his book because his colleagues knew the truth, but do not want to admit that the media shows
Media has been playing a significant role in our daily lives by developing our personalities, enriching our knowledge and providing us with different sorts of information. It has a tremendous power in framing cultural guidelines and shaping political dissertation. If the information provided to the U.S. citizens is distorted, then they cannot make informed decisions on the matters of public policy. Thus, it becomes vital to the American democracy that the news media and its institutions remain unbiased, fair and accurate. Media bias happens when a media systematically and persistently emphasize one particular point of view that is usually below the standards of professional journalism. There can be various reasons for media bias, some of
The media today has become a topic of concern for many members of the general population. Am I getting a reliable source of information? Is this source withholding the truth and ameliorating a topic? If I know that the information being reported is false, how can I trust that any other information from this source can be trusted? These are several questions that a particular citizen might make on a day to day basis, and when the question of bias is thrown into the mix, an overwhelming feeling of mistrust in our media can ensue. Media sources today are siding more and more towards their viewers political views, and this creates a form of media-bias that can spread untrustworthy information out into the public. Depending on your media source,
Media bias is defined as “the perception that the media is reporting the news in a partial or prejudiced manner” (Dugger). This kind of bias can be observed everywhere and in every kind of situation. American people get almost all of their information from popular news outlets or some other form of media. The media is often guilty for taking advantage of their power and covering stories with a certain political bias. This is obviously an enormous problem. It was not hard to find an example of such bias and the influence it has on public opinion.
It has recently come to my attention that not enough people understand how great bias in media has been to our lives. Each day we wake up and see near one or more biases in the media, lying at the foot of our beds. It is wonderful to be able to wake up and smile each morning because of this. Decisions are made based on what people hold to be true. History has shown instances where severly biased media. The most recognizable evidence being WWII and Stalin. "Because of the status quo bias, the media ignore any position that advocates radical change"
It is important that news broadcasting networks do not let personal bias effect the story that’s being told to its audience. People who watch the news, opinions are heavily influenced by the information given to them. Viewers think their opinion is original but are unaware that the information they receive is biased and is meant to influence and form their opinions about a certain topic or argument. Many believe that the news is unbiased and factual because journalist or experts are providing them with evidence.When, in fact, these news outlets are filled with producers, reporters, and writers, who share the same viewpoints. This is groupthink and groupthink is very prominent in news broadcasting networks. Groupthink is when a group of people who share the same ideologies make decisions as a group. In an interview with Fox Business’s John Stossel, Bernie Goldberg explains that groupthink effects the viewer because like-minded people at news networks only show the audience one-side of an argument or story because of their personal opinions on a the topic. This means that news
“Before proceeding, it is useful to clarify our definition of bias. Most important, the definition has nothing to do with the honesty or accuracy of the news outlet. Instead, our notion is more like a taste or preference” (Groseclose & Milyo, 2005).
To say the media is bias is an understatement. One could just look at the political coverage and easily identify which party the network supports. However when it comes to news and current events being bias or disingenuous can have massive results and spread misinformation. The news promotes stories that bring in ratings or bolster their narrative. These actions have been
The “roots” of bias in the media date back to the nineteenth century, and criticism about bias partly reflects a controversial idea about what exactly is the media’s role and purpose. Newspapers and television alike are suppose to exist to relay objective, factual information gathered and communicated by journalists and reporters.
One of the biggest arguments against the question of negative media bias is, “is there even media bias at all?” Obviously it’s well known and has already been proven that the media is bias on certain issues, but the more note worthy opposition’s argument is that, is there necessarily a problem with media bias? They argue that the effect of media bias is not inherently bad, since a majority of people are already under the impression that there are pieces of media that favor one side of an issue, the audience should already be aware to filter certain information (DellaVigna, Kaplan). For example, people will view media and understand that there is bias involved, but not necessarily care or pay close attention to it. What this argument means is that if the viewers already know the information could be tainted, than they are less likely to be influenced.
The media is lying to our faces while pushing their own opinions onto the groups that they have influence over. This statement might sound insane but an overwhelming number of Americans believe that the media is not being completely honest with the information that they are reporting. Media bias may not seem like a hard-hitting issue but it can become extremely dangerous in the right circumstances. Media bias becomes a dangerous weapon when politicians use it as a tactic to get the upper hand in a situation. Often, this situation involves the presidential elections and other high ranking official elections. In almost every presidential election there are reports where party officials often accuse certain networks of favoritism towards one party
Media bias is a topic that has been in great focus of many political leaders over the past few presidential elections. However, what many people fail to see is that media bias has been around since the beginning of major news companies. Most Americans do not know what media bias is or how to identify it. That stated many people have noticed that most news stations are biased towards one religion, political party or even gender. This has been like this for decades however has become much more prominent during major wars, the great depression and many social and political reforms such as the industrial era or the civil rights era. However the type of bias has been shifted mostly from a war focus and the focus on exposing corruption to
There are many different hidden truths in the media that people do not know about due to the fact that the media emphasizes on just one particular point of view. Throughout the years, people have been biased in the media and the reason as to why this happens is that people choose to lean on one side such as republican, democrat, libertarian, or conservative. To be biased means to only be on one side of an argument or situation and only favor more of what one person has to say. There are a variety of different news channels in which they all tend to lean more on one side, there is not a single news channel that is on the same side as another. There are many current events that have multiple contentious between other news channels. The viewers
In today’s society, remaining connected and knowledgeable of current events and the newest trends is vital to staying ahead in business, education, and social standing. This information is supplied to everyone through the internet, newspapers, television, and radio. One can tune into stations such as CNN, NBC, Fox News, Al-Jazeera, and many others (“SQs of Media Outlets”). In order to meet the needs of viewers, readers, and listeners, the ideal media system would contain accurate, quick information, with a purely impartial view on the facts as they are known. However, this modern media system has not maintained an objective view, pushing opinionated and slanted reporting onto the population in order to create profit and gain customers. The exploitation of information media for personal gain has created a toxic and inaccurate present, constant in today’s society.
With that being said, the news media has an incredible power at their disposal to shape the minds of the people. The question we must ask here, is it morally ethical for media outlets to purposely shape the minds of their viewers for their own benefit? Any type of agenda setting by the media is negative to our society as a whole because it forces people to think in one conscious direction instead of being objective to important issues.