That being said, there is a certain expectation from journalistic sites that claim to harbor no intentional bias. Take FoxNewsLatino, for instance. While the Fox News Network is often cited as extremely partisan (with entire non-profit organizations dedicated to keeping them in-check), their website is recognized as being less-so, similar to MSNBC/NBC News and their news website NBCNews.com, which has no editorial or executive connection to the actual news network. However, I was struck by a recent article entitled, "Obama Backs Lawsuit Defending Texas Voter ID Law." Reading this article's title, even if you're just skimming through the potential articles to read will give you an impression that is not only misleading, but directly contrary to the substance of the article. The piece in question is relatively straight-forward, concerning President Obama and the Justice Department backing a lawsuit which challenges the Texas voter ID law. The substance and title are at certain odds with each other, which should raise some red flags for critical readers.
There is a tendency in journalism to editorialize in ways that don't appear as overt as partisan analysis. The specific stories a news outlet chooses to publish or focus on is an indirect means of editorializing, especially if the aim is to give a partisan impression to the reader. For instance, if you go to a news website's political homepage and see nothing but articles about unintended consequences of "Obamacare," or how some figures perceive President Obama as appearing "weak on Syria," then the distinct impression you'll gather is that the Obama presidency is in dire circumstances and that the walls are crumbling around him.
In another article from FoxNews.com entitled, "States marketing 'ObamaCare' with other names to bolster enrollment," the author brushes over facts and only penetrates the surface-level of assertions that have become shallow political talking-points. For instance, the article ends and is built upon the statement, "National polls show the public is wary about ObamaCare, including a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released last week that showed 42 percent of Americans disapprove of the law, compared to 37 percent favoring it." However, some important facts that Fox News simply does not add is that the same Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 57% of Americans oppose defunding "Obamacare." In addition, of those who oppose "Obamacare," a quarter of them oppose it because it "didn't go far enough," more than likely a nod to a single-payer system or public option. Reanalyzing these statistics with these vital aspects in mind, it paints a truly different picture than the one provided by Fox News and other conservative outlets.
Good stuff! Sounds like I could use regular reading from you once I start making more blog posts. I'll be checking this regularly to get more inspiration for my posts.
ReplyDeleteAndy, well researched post with good supporting links. This type of bias is quite common (on both sides) and as mentioned in your post, can often be overlooked by the average reader. Bias by omission is quite tricky. If you are not already semi well versed in the topics being covered, how would the average reader know to go and check the reasons that some of the respondents gave for their responses? Generally speaking, you either have to be up to date on the issue or have a keen interest in it to begin fact checking arguments made by various sources. I believe that bias by omission can certainly be one of the most sinister forms of bias, as it is sometimes the hardest to detect.
ReplyDeleteBias is an interesting thing. But what I always ask is.. where would we be without bias. It's not necessarily a bad thing unless there is no other polar to attract the other side. That 's why debating is so popular. Everyone has their own views. This is how it will always be unless we end up in a society like the Giver (great book by the way). I think without bias these media corporation would have no money and no supporters, and at the end of the day what is news media.... a business. Therefore, while many may not agree I think bias is a great way to earn money. Americans, unfortunately, will turn into their news station that is their favorite in order for them to have reinforced ideas of what they believe. Therefore, why would they want to turn to another channel only to feel unsteady. I think this is where bias can get tricky. If more citizens were willing to have their ideas contradicted and have an open mind, there would be a better educated population on the issues and everyone could make an informed decision themselves. But unfortunately this is not the case, and that is why bias in today's world is very negative for the population and financially beneficial for the media corporations.
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