Arts and Media:
Media Bias
AS General Studies
Arts and Media: Media Bias
Objectives:
1. To understand what the terms ‘media’ and ‘bias’
mean
2. To discuss the role of the media within a democracy
3. To learn how to spot bias in the news
4. To consider how media bias is linked to politics
5. To consider the ‘rights and wrongs’ of media bias
News is a matter of perspective
• What do YOU see?
News is a matter of perspective
• What do YOU see?
News is a matter of perspective
• What do YOU see?
News is a matter of perspective
• What do YOU see?
But how do you know
that what you are
seeing, reading or
hearing is the truth?
Media
“Ways of transmission.” It is the Latin plural of
medium. When we put the word mass in front of
media, we mean ways of transmission to very
large audiences in the tens of millions and
beyond. The world of media is made up of
pictures, words, and sounds.
There are now more types of media than
ever. More recently, mobile phone users and
bloggers are also making a contribution to the
news. What effect do you think this is having on
the news we are receiving?
Bias
Bias is a one-sided view, which a person may have
because of some reason or motivation to see things in a
certain way. At one time or other we all complain about
"bias in the media." The fact is, despite the journalistic
ideal of "objectivity,“ (without bias or prejudice) every
news story is influenced by the attitudes and background
of its interviewers, writers, photographers and editors.
For example, if two people had a fight in the schoolyard, each
one would report the incident according to his/her point of view.
Other people who saw the fight might also have a certain bias
or point of view when they tell the story, depending on the
experience they brought to the fight, and their feelings about
the people involved in the fight.
However, it’s important to remember that not all bias is
deliberate.
Media Bias and democracy
• A democracy is a form of government in which
supreme power is vested in the people and
exercised by them directly or indirectly through a
system of representation usually involving
periodic free elections (it’s what we have in this
country).
• Democracy has come to imply universal
suffrage, competition for office, freedom of
speech and the press, and the rule of law. This
obviously give the media lots of independence
and choice.
Spend 5 minutes discussing these
questions with a partner. You should
make some notes on your key ideas, so
that you can share them with the class.
• Why is it important to have a free press in a
democracy?
• Why is it important for citizens in a democracy to
be able to detect media bias?
• Why is it important to see an issue from multiple
perspectives?
Types of Media Bias
Omitting to include info
e.g. stats which support
the opposing side of
the argument.
Strategies for Influencing
the Thought of the Reader
Think about all the aspects of the media – not just
words!
How to Detect Bias in the News
1. Bias through selection and omission
• An editor can express a bias by choosing to use or not to use a
specific news item.
• Within a given story, some details can be ignored, and others
included, to give readers or viewers a different opinion about the
events reported. If, during a speech, a few people boo, the reaction can
be described as "remarks greeted by jeers" or they can be ignored as
"a handful of dissidents."
• Bias through omission is difficult to detect. Only by comparing news
reports from a wide variety of outlets can the form of bias be observed.
2. Bias through placement
Readers of papers judge first page stories to be more significant than
those buried in the back. Television and radio newscasts run the most
important stories first and leave the less significant for later. Where a
story is placed, therefore, influences what a reader or viewer thinks
about its importance.
How to Detect Bias in the News
3. Bias by headline
Many people read only the headlines of a news item. Most people
scan nearly all the headlines in a newspaper. Headlines are the
most-read part of a paper. They can summarize as well as present
carefully hidden bias and prejudices. They can convey excitement
where little exists. They can express approval or condemnation.
4. Bias by photos, captions and camera angles
Some pictures flatter a person, others make the person look
unpleasant. A paper can choose photos to influence opinion about,
for example, a candidate for election. On television, the choice of
which visual images to display is extremely important. The captions
newspapers run below photos are also potential sources of bias.
Photo Bias
Which picture is positive and which is
negative?
NB: Camera angles and sound can also
influence how something is interpreted.
How to Detect Bias in the
News
5. Bias through use of names and titles
News media often use labels and titles to describe people, places, and
events. A person can be called an "ex-con" or be referred to as someone
who "served time twenty years ago for a minor offense." Whether a person is
described as a "terrorist" or a "freedom fighter" is a clear indication of
editorial bias.
6. Bias through statistics and crowd counts
To make a disaster seem more spectacular (and therefore worthy of reading
about), numbers can be inflated. "A hundred injured in air crash" can be the
same as "only minor injuries in air crash," reflecting the opinion of the person
doing the counting.
How to Detect Bias in the News
7. Bias by source control
To detect bias, always consider where the news item
"comes from." Is the information supplied by a reporter, an
eyewitness, police or fire officials, executives, or elected or
appointed government officials? Each may have a particular
bias that is introduced into the story.
8. Word choice and tone
Showing the same kind of bias that appears in headlines,
the use of positive or negative words or words with a
particular connotation can strongly influence the reader or
viewer.
Some forms of media support particular political
parties. If they support labour or liberal ideals,
they are described as ‘left wing’ and if they
support conservative policies, they are described
as ‘right wing’.
Read sources B, C and D on pages 43, 44 and 45 of the text book.
Discuss the following points:
1. What kind of policies would be characteristically seen as left or
right wing?
2. Is it the responsibility of the press to be opposed to authority?
3. Do the BBC (a public service broadcaster) and independent
broadcasting companies (such as Sky) have different roles?
(Think about who pays for them!) Should the BBC be objective?
Should we pay for the BBC through advertising or pay per
view? What would be the benefits?
Plenary:
Think about…is it right for…
…photographers to stake out a politician when they are on
holiday with their family?
…a journalist to speculate about what the politician and
his/her family might be doing or thinking?
…a newspaper to present as news what is really subjective?
…a picture editor to print a photomontage which ridiculed
public figures?
Homework:
Researching the topic by looking through the newspapers available in the
library, and then write a list of newspapers and whether they support more
right wing or left wing politics, or whether they are more central. When you
have done this, write a paragraph explaining why it may be a problem that
some newspapers support one political party. Due next lesson.