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 inclincation 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
After reading the articles I was surprised as to how much bias there was. Each article took a different side on the matter but was really biased towards that side. Obviously the writers were not objective and it was if they had never even heard of the word.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to what Paige said, the difference in the tone was amazing. I was confused though, because for one of the articles, the explanation on one of the biased phrases mentioned that a quote didn't supply an alternative interpretation. Is that a kind of fail safe for the reporter so that people don't get offended if he shows bias in the way he presents quotes? Or is it something different?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the blog post this week. I also believe that most journalists do not intend to have bias views within their writing. Its hard not to inflict your opinion while writing a piece. But for the sake of journalism and the readers around the world I can see why an unbiased piece is what all journalists strive for
ReplyDeleteWow, I never knew two different articles on the same topic could be so different. The writers have completely different points of view. It is obvious that each story is biased in their own way. I think that it is very hard for any writer to completely leave out their personal opinions in any piece they are writing. However, when an individual is reading work that is biased, it may influence the way the readers feel about the subject. Therefore, I realize that it is very important for journalists to strive to be as objective as possible in their writing.
ReplyDeleteIt is not only important for journalists to be objective, but for readers to be aware of what the articles imply. Often I catch myself reading an article and agreeing with the author even if I don't have all the facts yet. Learning and practicing to be an aware reader is the same, in my opinion, as being a journalist that doesn't allow their biased thoughts to affect their writing.
ReplyDeleteLike the people above, the differences in those articles was crazy.
ReplyDeleteSo much of what we read and listen to is biased, even if we don't realize it. It's kind of scary to think about because we have to really search for articles that are objective and leave us to determine our own opinions, not have the article hand our opinions to us.
It is important for readers to be aware of what articles are implying. I can see how it would be hard for a reporter to keep his or her opinions out of an article, but it is a really important thing to do. I feel that it is very important to strive to make a piece completely objective, but it seems really hard. I feel that it is important for readers to know whether the paper they are getting their information from tends to be biased, and if so, what side it leans to. The reader then needs to keep the bias in mind while reading the paper.
ReplyDeleteThe articles you gave us were obviously biased! It is hard to imagine how often we hear or read biased things without realizing it! If we only listen to one news station, for example Fox News, we could find ourselves listening to only the conservative views on things. This is why we need to get information from a variety of sources in order to be able to draw our own conclusions.
ReplyDeleteThe two articles that you has us read were both very bias. I can see now, by reading these articles, how some people can be unaware of their bias while writing. There are very obvious forms of bias such as use of sources and others are less noticeable like the wording of a sentence. After going to the U of M site I am better informed about how to be subjective while reading or watching the news so that I can spot bias reporting.
ReplyDeleteAs illustrated in these articles, bias occurs very frequently in journalism. This confuses me because all journalists should have it pounded into their heads that bias in their writing is something to steer clear of. I do realize that bias in writing is sometimes unintentional and it is hard for journalists not to work their opinions into an article if they have a very strong opinion about the matter they are writing about, but I still feel that any good experienced journalist should know how to avoid bias in writing.
ReplyDeleteSeeing these two articles side by side really made the biases glaringly obvious. Something that worries me, though, is the fact that, had the biases not been exposed, most people probably would not have even realized they were there. Fair and balanced reporting is the responsibility of the reporter, but also of the reader as well. Since we are the consumers of news, we should not be scared to call out writers for their biases.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised at how difficult it can be to spot bias. I didn't notice how biased the first article was until I compared it to the second article. The second one was very obvious in its anti-Iraq bias. Objective reporting is the reporter's goal, but it can be hard to do, and many people, including the reporter, can easily miss bias. We should be mindful of bias, not only in what we read, but also in what we write.
ReplyDelete