Mass Media and Media Bias
Think About It
“The wisdom of the crowd often
replicates the opinion of experts”
Do you agree, or disagree? Explain.
LSW GOPO
• Understanding the different ways in which bias can
be found in media and political messages is
important. Developing a filter of identification will
allow you to better navigate and attach yourself to
messages that are meaningful to you. Knowing how
to identify bias will better prepare you for defining
issues and attaching importance to a wide variety of
issues in contemporary politics. The following
information will help in the identification process.
Mass Media Defined
means of communication that reach large,
widely dispersed audiences simultaneously.
Newspapers, magazines, radio, television and
the Internet have a huge effect on the
formation of public opinion.
Effects of Mass Media
• There is at least one television set in more than 98% of
the nation’s 115 million households.
• There are two or more sets in more than 80 million
homes and millions more in many other places
• Most of those sets are turned on for at least 8 hours a
day, for a mind-boggling total of more than a billion
hours a day.
• By the time a student graduates from high school, he
or she will have spent nearly 11,000 hours in
classrooms and nearly 15,000 hours watching
television. On average, high school students watch
more than 20 hours of TV each week.
Mirrors and Molders
The media are frequently said to be “mirrors”
as well as “molders” of opinion. It is often
claimed that the views expressed in
newspaper editorials, news magazines,
television commentaries, and blogs are fairly
good indicators of public opinion. In fact,
however, the media are not always accurate
mirrors of public opinion, often reflecting only
the views of a vocal minority.
Questions to Ask when Analyzing
Media
• Who are the sources?
• From whose point of view is the news
reported?
• Are there double standards?
• What are the unchallenged assumptions?
• Is the language loaded or neutral?
• Is there a lack of context to the story?
• Do the headlines and stories match?
Components of Media Bias
Media Bias
Spin
• Bias by spin – Bias by spin occurs when the story has only one
interpretation of an event or policy, to the exclusion of the
other; spin involves tone – it’s a reporter’s subjective
comments about objective facts; makes one side’s ideological
perspective look better than another. To check if it’s spin,
observe which interpretation of an event or policy a news
story matches – the liberal or conservative. Many news
stories do not reflect a particular spin. Others summarize the
spin put on an event by both sides. But if a story reflects one
to the exclusion of the other, then you’ve found bias by spin.
2012 Election: Media Spectrum
• http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/coverage_candidates_media_secto
r_and_cable_outlet
Labeling
•
Bias by labeling – Bias by labeling comes in two forms. The first is the tagging of
conservative politicians and groups with extreme labels while leaving liberal
politicians and groups unlabeled or with more mild labels. The second kind of bias
by labeling occurs when a reporter not only fails to identify a liberal as a liberal,
but describes the person or group with positive labels, such as “an expert” or
“independent consumer group”. In so doing, the reporter imparts an air of
authority that the source does not deserve. If the “expert” is properly called a
“conservative” or a “liberal” the news consumer can take that ideological slant
into account when evaluating the accuracy of an assertion. When looking for bias
by labeling, remember that not all labeling is biased or wrong. Bias by labeling is
present when the story labels the conservative, but not the liberal; when the story
uses more extreme sounding labels for the conservative than the liberal (“ultraconservative”, “far right”, but just “liberal” instead of “far left” and “ultraliberal”); and when the story misleadingly identifies a liberal official or group as an
expert or independent watchdog organization.
Same Story, Different Views
•
President Obama "manned up"
Wednesday, exercised his executive
authority and announced the recess
appointment of Richard Cordray as
the Director of the Consumer
Protection Bureau--ending months of
partisan bickering and obstructionism
by 45 Republican Senators and their
patrons in the financial services
industry.
– Huffington Post Article
President Obama today will give a
recess appointment to Richard
Cordray to serve as director of the
new Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau… a
Republican filibuster last month
blocked the Senate from securing
cloture on Cordray’s nomination.
- Brookings Institution Article
•
In a revelation that is quite shocking
to anyone who knows anything about
the 100-plus years of precedent on
the recess appointment power or the
separation of powers, the White
House today announced that the
President planned on making a
purported recess appointment of
Richard Cordray to the new
Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau. This is a position the Senate
has refused to confirm Cordray for,
and it is also of note that the White
House announced this momentous
decision in an official tweet from
communications director Dan Pfeiffer.
– Heritage Foundation Article
–
http://www.politico.com/gallery/2012/06/
how-media-played-scotus-ruling/000226002829.html
Placement
• Bias by placement – Story placement is a measure of how
important the editor considers the story. Studies have shown that,
in the case of the average newspaper reader and the average news
story, most people read only the headline. Bias by placement is
where in the paper or in an article a story or event is printed; a
pattern of placing news stories so as to downplay information
supportive of conservative views. To locate examples of bias by
placement, observe where a newspaper places political stories. Or
whenever you read a story, see how far into the story the
conservative viewpoint first appears. In a fair and balanced story,
the reporter would quote or summarize the liberal and conservative
view at about the same place in the story. If not, you’ve found bias
by placement.
Story Selection
• Bias by story selection – a pattern of highlighting news stories that
coincide with the agenda of the Left while ignoring stories that
coincide with the agenda of the Right; printing a story or study
released by a liberal group but ignoring studies on the same or
similar topics released by conservative groups. To identify bias by
story selection you’ll need to know the conservative and liberal
sides of the issue. See how much coverage conservative issues get
compared to issues on the liberal agenda. For example, if a liberal
group puts out a study proving a liberal point, look at how much
coverage it got compared to a conservative study issued a few days
or weeks earlier. If charges of impropriety are leveled at two
politicians of approximately equal power, one liberal and one
conservative, compare the amount of coverage given to each.
Selection of Sources
• Bias by selection of sources – including more sources that support one
view over another. This bias can also be seen when a reporter uses such
phrases as “experts believe”, “observers say,” or “most people
believe”. Experts in news stories are like expert witnesses in trials. If you
know whether the defense or the prosecution called a particular expert
witness to the stand, you know which way the witness will testify. And
when a news story only presents one side, it is obviously the side the
reporter supports. (Journalists often go looking for quotes to fit their
favorite argument into a news story.) To find bias by use of experts or
sources, stay alert to the affiliations and political perspective of those
quoted as experts or authorities in news stories. Not all stories will
include experts, but in those that do, make sure about an equal number of
conservatives and liberals are quoted. If a story quotes non-experts, such
as those portrayed as average citizens, check to be sure that about an
equal number come from both sides of the issue in question.
Omission
• Bias by omission – leaving one side out of an article,
or a series of articles over a period of time; ignoring
facts that tend to disprove, or support
liberal/conservative beliefs ; bias by omission can
occur either within a story, or over the long term as a
particular news outlet reports one set of events, but
not another. To find instances of bias by omission,
be aware of the conservative and liberal perspectives
on current issues. See if the conservative
perspective is included in stories on a particular
event or policy.
Gun Control: Jan 14, 2013
• Now w/ Alex Wagner,
• Fox News: “Presidential
Rachel Maddow and
power grab on gun
MSNBC
control?” Sean Hannity
• http://video.msnbc.msn • http://www.foxnews.co
.com/now-with-alexm/onwagner/50434394#504
air/hannity/2013/01/10
34394
/presidential-powergrab-gun-control
24 hour news v. primary stations; Journalists
v. bloggers
• Reporting news v.
creating news
• Joe Schmo on
myblog.blogspot.com v.
Walter Cronkite
(journalism standards
and credibility v.
blogosphere)
Implications of Bias
• How does the media
affect society?
• How are media’s
effects shaped by the
lens through which they
present news?
Egyptians becoming sources of news
during the Arab Spring and overthrow
of Mubarak.
How to Recognize and Analyze Bias
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Who are the sources?
From whose point of view is the news reported?
Are there double standards?
What are the unchallenged assumptions?
Is the language loaded or neutral?
Is there a lack of context to the story?
Do the headlines and stories match?
Types of Media Bias