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| Creative Commons photo by DonkeyHotey |
As we examine the problem of bias in the news, you're probably thinking, "I'm not prejudiced. So I would never be biased in my reporting or writing." But bias isn't the same thing as prejudice. Prejudice is a deliberate negative feeling or attitude. Bias is a tendency or an inclination to assume a certain viewpoint, and a bias may be favorable or unfavorable and is not always deliberate. Indeed, most reporters are unaware of bias in their reporting until someone points it out to them.
Even if your work is free of bias, you need to be a critical observer of the news media and have a greater understanding of bias in reporting. Because it happens. All the time.
Bias can occur in many ways, particularly through:
- Selection and omission of specific details
- Placement of a story
- Choice of sources
- Word choice and tone
- Headlines
- Photos and camera angles
- Captions
- Names and titles
- Statistics
For an example of liberal bias, read the examples below (from Breitbart.com) regarding a story about former presidential candidate Mitt Romney who made some controversial remarks while he was being secretly videotaped. How do the revised versions of this New York Times article show a liberal bias?
The original piece contains this paragraph:
Romney told reporters Monday night that his remarks were “not elegantly stated” and were “spoken off the cuff.” But he says Obama's approach is “attractive to people who are not paying taxes.”
The new version reads:
The original reads:
Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager, said in a statement Monday evening that it was “shocking” that Romney would “go behind closed doors” to describe nearly half of the country in such terms.
Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager, said in a statement Monday evening that it was “shocking” that Romney would “go behind closed doors” to describe nearly half of the country in such terms.
The new version reads:
Mr. Romney, who has been under fire for releasing only two years of his tax returns, was quickly attacked by the Obama campaign. Jim Messina, Mr. Obama’s campaign manager, said in a statement Monday evening that it was “shocking” that Mr. Romney would “go behind closed doors” to describe nearly half of the country in such terms.
Finally, watch this video by comedian Jon Stewart, who shows a collection of news clips from Fox News about its biased coverage that accuses the Obama administration of covering up "the truth" about how an American ambassador was killed in Benghazi, Libya.
I never really realized how many things in writing can be considered bias. I also never really paid enough attention to bias in the news. Even though it's hard, journalists and news anchors should always keep their personal opinions to themselves. It may interfere with what message they want to get across, and it could also anger people who may not have the same opinion. The "U.N. Withdraws U-2 Planes" article is very eye-opening. There are so many things highlighted that show a bias opinion. I will pay more attention to what I say in an article and how I write it.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was funny how all of the clips in the video had us thinking it was on President Obama, but then this comedian gives us the whole story without any ifs and it sounds like a completly different topic. Bias seems like a very hard thing to control because everyone has their opinions, but I can see why it's important to get stories to your audiences appropriately, allowing them to make their own unbiased judgement.
ReplyDeleteI came to the same realization "Bireckik" came too. I never really imagined how little I knew about bias in the media. I always assumed if they weren't being nasty and mean towards one another, or someone else, then that was just fine. It opened my eyes to the omissions, the site choices, the phrasing and un-supported quotes sprikled in an article, or video (etc), at the most convenient of times, with nothing around it except the few choice words. The story with the cover up of Benghazi made me sick to my stomach. I had to watch the entire video twice and both times when the First 100 days of Obama clip played my stomach dropped and has left me with an awful feeling. It was also shown that some of the reporters were just rambling on an on to fill air time and casually throwing their opinions in stories they knew little to nothing about. All in all, I'm horrified and disgusted to say the least.
ReplyDeleteLike Katie and Simone, I never fully understood just what is considered "bias" until now. The two stories about the U-2 planes really showed me how careful journalists have to be when trying to avoid bias. One word can change the whole meaning of a story for the readers. That is a lot of power to put into the hands of the journalist, and as was shown in the articles, sometimes the journalist isn't careful enough (or they choose not to be). Opinions and facts need to be kept separate, and that can be hard to do when a single word can be the difference between the two. From now on, I'm going to watch what I say in an article much more carefully.
ReplyDeleteLike previous commenters, I too had never really payed attention to, or noticed, bias in the media, whether it be in writing or in broadcasting. The leads on Romney's response to his remarks in the secret videotape definitely showed liberal bias, while the attacks on the Obama Administration during the Benghazi investigation were obviously reported in a conservative voice. I would not have noticed these, however, if they had not been pointed out in this blog. I will make a point of watching for written and broadcasted bias from now on. As a sidenote, ironically after watching episodes of the 'Daily Show with Jon Stewart', although he is very funny, he himself tends to run his show with a liberal bias.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the first comment. There are different ways stories can be biased without your intention. In the two articles about the planes, the links showed various sentences with strong biased words that informed me of what to avoid.
ReplyDeleteThe revised versions of the New York Times article show liberal bias by the evident harsh words towards Romney. Romney is described as awkward, “under fire”, and venerable for being attacked. I think it's really important to practice unbiased writing so it’ll be fair to both sides of the story.
Similarly to the fourth comment, I never full understood what bias was until I had to look for it. Now that I realize what it is I am shocked by the amount of bias in the media. I understand that sometimes its hard to hide your opinions, but as a journalist it's your duty to report the facts and only the facts. This is important because the facts a journalist reports can influence the readers or viewers opinions, and if the facts have been altered by bias, then the journalist is doing their audience a disservice.
ReplyDeleteLike what many others said, I never realized how subtle bias can be in the news. I always thought bias was very evident, but this article made me realize it is not. One form of bias that stands out to me is omitting facts. By omitting important facts, the reader does not know the entire story. Also, liberal bias can be a problem in today's media because it can affect the way people see things. It can affect peoples choices and decisions. For example, The New York Times article evidently shows liberal bias by leaving facts out and making the word choice harsher. Bias can be very subtle but can affect the way people see events.
ReplyDeleteLike all the other commentors, I never realized how prominent bias is in the media. I have watched and read plenty of news reports to know the language of the common political writer. When thinking back to the stories I have read I realize how bias really does weasel it's way into the stories. I agree with Nadia that one of the most prominent forms of bias is fact omission. By omitting certain facts and ideas, stories care twisted and tainted to be viewed one way or another. If bias is strong it can affect important decisions people make based off of what they hear. We trust the media to let us know what is going on. We count on them to bring us the facts. If they taint the facts, how are we supposed to know the whole story? Each article given displays a form of bias that could truly affect important decisons. No matter what, if bias is present the ideas of the story will change. The media needs to figure out a way to get rid of bias; it has already had too big an impact on the world thus far.
ReplyDeleteBias in the media is very prevalent. If you think about it, being non-bias can be difficult for news reporters and stations. If a station shares a vertain viewpoint, like Fox being conservation and MSNBC being conservative, it may be hard for them to shy away from their natural opinions. I agree with Allia in how she said we trust the media to give us the non-bias story. That's why stations like CNN are necessary so that we get a neutral viewpoint. Simlar to the videos we watched in class about the Democratic National Convention and the differnce in coverage between Fox and MSNBC; if you only watch one station your views on world issues will be slighted. To shy away from bias it is good to watch several stations and pick what you think is factual and not based on opinion. In the news articles we read, the differences in the articles were stunning and how biased the "U.N. withdraws U-2 Planes" was shocking. Seeing the biased points highlighted was eye opening. I will now pay more attention to the way the news media portrays different stories.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with all previous responses stated, I too never realized the amount of blatantly bias opinions that are found in many articles and news broadcasts. However, in some cases bias can be difficult to recognize because of it's subtle presentation. Also, I do understand that sometimes a reporters personal opinion on a certain subject can get in the way of the facts and the real story. So agreeing with what was said by Jon Stewart in his show, it is hard to decipher the truth from the exaggeration in broadcast journalism. Moreover, I found it interesting how a simple use of word choice with a slight inclination toward the positive or the negative, can alter a story entirely. It is important to remember to not let opinions get in the way of facts.
ReplyDeleteLike all previous comments I also have never noticed how many bias comments and statements are in the media until watching the video and reading these articles. Bias can be difficult to recognize especially when it is you who is speaking but it is always important to remember the facts and to keep opinion to yourself. It is hard at times to keep opinion to yourself but people or interested in knowing what is happening not what might have happened. Bias may be subtle but it has a test effect on what people believe which is why bias needs to be removed from the media as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Simone, I never realized how even straight facts can be considered bias as well. When reading the articles I really got to see the differences between bias and not and I believe that my understanding for it now has become much more clear. When I was watching the video for the cover up of Benghazi I thought it was quite humorous. When I watch the news I really didn't think that people were saying things in the biased way, I just listened to more of facts, but when he pointed out how each of the reporters worded their words it really opened my eyes. I enjoyed the part when he was saying that of guy was pretty much rambling on because he didn't know the answer to the Benghazi question. I really do not appreciate how unprofessional several of these reporters are and I will be watching more closely to see how much of a variety of reporters actually do this.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the commentors saying they were surprised at how prominent bias is in popular news sources. I never really knew the difference between bias and prejudice, but now I have a clear understanding. I thought it was really interesting and shocking how different news organizations have such noticeable bias's. It really makes me cautious when reading up on news and makes me realize that it is important to get important news from many different sources. It also made me more aware of bias in my own writing. Overall I think avoiding bias is one of the toughest but most important jobs of a journalist.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katie and Simone when they said how unnoticed bias in writing can be. Some bias comments in the news go completely unnoticed by readers, but they totally believe what they are hearing. Bias news reporters can change the opinion of readers and news listeners. Some of the articles just sprinkled in some bias opinions while others were completely bias. It concerns me that news reporters can get away with sharing their completely bias opinions to potentially thousands of people. Bias words and phrases are often used in news reports and I think reporters need to be more careful about what they are saying. Instead of giving your opinion, give the actual news report.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paisley. I was shocked to see how one-sided the media can be. One word or a switch of a sentence, can really dictate the mood of a story. Especially with politics. The media and reporters have gotten so involved in their own opinions they forgot why they are here in the first place-to deliver news. I think the media should be a lot more careful on how much they put biased information out because it really can affect society in a harmful way. The media needs to equal out the news so society can be more well rounded.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Simone when she says she didn't really realize how much bias is in the media. It's amazing how just changing a few words can completely twist the interpretation or meaning of the story. I also agree with Paisley when she says it's important for journalists to be the least biased as possible. How the media portrays a story has a huge impact on the people they are telling it to. If the audience only hears one side of the story, they aren't going to be able to form a healthy opinion. So, it's very important to hear both sides of the story. Like several other commenters, I can't believe the amount of bias in the news that I haven't even noticed until now.
ReplyDeleteIt's very interesting to me that bias can be found almost everywhere in journalism. I think that it is important for journalists to deviate from being biased. It is a big part of their job as a reporter. I agree with Simone when she says that she thought as long as the reported was not being nasty or mean then it was fine. Bias goes beyond being nasty and mean to subtle, sneaky comments that are unacceptable. Bias is something that needs to end. People need to get all sides of the story, not just one.
ReplyDeleteI never really realized that most of the news is so biased. I thought that the articles were really interesting and kinda funny how they subtly showed bias. I completely disagree with having bias in the news and it makes me upset to learn that people actually get away with it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kellie, saying that bias reporters go unnoticed. They may slip in a few comments, giving their opinion towards the story and the viewers may not pick up on it. Like Kellie says, bias reporters can change the opinion of their readers and viewers. If their comments lean towards one side of the story, the audience may agree with the reporter.
ReplyDelete