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Media influences on public opinion
Bias in media examples
Media bias in america
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Reporter rely on sources to provide accurate information for their audiences. Since reporters cannot simply give their opinion in a matter, they must fall back on the several sources at their fingertips. The sources provide various perspective and often are experts in the issues that the reporters are presenting to the public. However, source can be unreliable or bias in the information they provide. A source may come from business or organization and the source has to keep in mind that the information they give to reporters can come back to hurt the company. Source can also be bias in the information in that thay are experts on one side but do not provide the other side. People think that source are the end all, if an expert says it’s true then it must be. Reporters can also create bias in the sources they choose to go to. They need to be able to have sources who can be flexible to meet so the reporters can meet their deadlines. As a result, reporters may only go to source that are readily available. This can severely limit the number of voices heard by the public. The question is whether the current system in which reporters and sources interact with each other effects the way the news s …show more content…
There could be several reasons why this is so. One side could have more people available to be interviewed or the people are more aggressive in getting their voice and statistics heard by the public. Another reason could be that the media corporations benefit financially more if they show more of one side. There are many reason for this, the sources are from financial supported and if there is a lack of representation then the supporters can pull their money out of the company. The support can be advertisements or other forms of income that the media corporations rely
Through manipulation and lies, media manages to modify objective news into biased news in order to convince the public of what the media wants them to believe. The article, “How the Media Twist the News”, by Sheila Gribben Liaugminas discusses the major influence that news has on readers based on their choice of stories and words. “How the Media Twists the News” has borrowed from multiple other texts such as the books like Public Opinion and Liberty and News, news magazine writers such as Ruderman, and news networks like CBS through Bias, A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News and CNN to make her arguments valid and prove that the news is biased and that it does influence readers significantly because of it.
It is not uncommon to hear people complaining about what they hear on the news. Everyone knows it and the media themselves knows it as well. Some of the most renowned journalists have even covered the the media’s issues in detail. Biased news outlets have flooded everyday news. We find that journalism’s greatest problems lie in the media’s inability for unbiased reporting, the tendency to use the ignorance of their audience to create a story, and their struggles to maintain relevance.
All pieces of information, unless hard fact, are biased. Bias may arise intentionally or not, but either way it is imperative that readers, watchers, and listeners are aware when they come in contact with media bias. Although it is unrealistic for the media to be completely objective in every issue they cover, media bias is a prevalent issue in the world today, and will continue on unless consumers of the media become truly educated about the world and its events. This is demonstrated in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, as all forms of media are controlled by the World State, in favor of the World State and the culture they have created.
The right to gather news from a source is not limited to news media personnel. The
Many people believe that liberal media bias is very relevant in this day in age, but really it is just a myth. Conservatives, also known as republicans, tend to forget that most of the American media is influenced heavily by corporate business owners(Schaller 49). Topics such as issues of war and peace, taxes and spending, and government regulation are heavily favorable to the conservatives. A study done by Media Matter for America shows that over sixty percent of U.S. daily newspapers publish conservative journalists rather than liberal(Schaller 49). On the other hand, it is obvious that some hot topics in the news are liberally skewed.
Today it seems almost impossible to get a straightforward answer on any major topic from the media. All sources of media have a specific audience that they are intending to hear or view the information that they have prepared, therefore they will cut bits and pieces out so that only the message they are trying to get across will be received. So indeed there is a media bias, and yes it more often than not slants towards the liberal view point, as many reporters and journalists have liberal views themselves.
According to James Madison, “nothing could be more irrational than to give the people power and to withhold from them information, without which power is abused,” suggesting that the people have the right to learn popular information and learn both sides of an issue (Paul and Elder 2). However, in modern society, the media often do not present both sides of an issue and are inclined to often mask information for their personal benefits. Therefore, the people often learn and understand only one aspect of an issue and inevitably lean towards the bias present in that news account. Indubitably, the coverage in the mainstream news media influences the majority through its bias and propaganda, especially its partisan audience, which only appreciates one side of the news story. Thus, even though news networks may claim that their news programs and publications are completely factual and credible, their coverage of news events is politically, commercially, and racially biased.
Yet, many journalists will not divulge their sources, creating difficulties for the court and in many cases, this kind of refusal of revealing sources can land a journalist in jail for contempt. Some may ask why a journalist would not want to reveal his or her sources if it helps solve a case in court. I think the answer to that question is obvious. If a journalist of any sort goes around revealing his sources to anyone and everyone, no one will provide him with information. Many informants only supply a journalist with information if the journalist can guarantee anonymity, so they would not trust a journalist who constantly reveals his sources.
It is important to understand the background of the person doing the reporting of events as it can influence what they think and say.
=The world of journalism is a constantly changing place. New information can be sent to anyone in the world with the click of a button. There has never been so many different means by which one can receive news. However, with a massive amount of news comes a massive amount of responsibility. Professor Rich Martin mentioned in lecture that it is essential for journalists to be fair and accurate.
The elimination of media bias is pretty much impossible due to the fact that large corporations head the media, and the heads of most large corporations are white men, but by the implementation of certain strategies it would be a move in the right direction. Media bias is a problem, though it may not be blatant, it is serious because it could be helping to form people?s beliefs about others. People are scared of the unknown, and by giving them a certain portrayal of someone they have had no interaction with; it can have detrimental effects. Who knows actually what impact media bias has had on the nation as a whole. How do we know whether or not media bias has made an individual not get or even lose a job? How do we know how many friendships media bias has stopped from even being initiated? Hopefully one day we will be able to recognize what media bias is, only then will we be able to begin the process of fighting to put an end to it. Only then will we be able to create a fair, unbiased media that is diverse and one that encompasses the ideas of an ideal media.
The issue continues when journalist begin to cover news that provide the public with little information of what truly matters, or try to avoid certain facts that do not work along with their views (p. 353). It is clear that ideological and partisan biases brings along many negative consequences. The biggest one being that journalist will often communicate incomplete and negative information simply because they do not agree with certain views. This can deeply affect how the public receives and analyzes information, in addition to decreasing their opportunity to understand the whole story. Without a doubt bias has an impact on the public, it does not allow individuals to have truthful and logical discussion, for they have limited information and are often closed to other ideas outside of their comfort
Independence and impartiality in journalism have always been a significant principle in measuring the quality of journalistic materials. Impartiality requires neutral and unbiased coverage of the events. It means that the journalist must report only the facts and not a personal beliefs and emotions toward the facts. According to this standard, being objective means to present different sides of an argument and maintain a balance of viewpoints, avoiding manipulation of the audience. Author and former broadcast executive David Cox defines impartiality most clearly: “Impartiality involves no more than the attempt to regard different ideas, opinions, interests, or individuals with detachment” (Sambrook, 2012). However, the question of pure impartiality
Such as news reports and talk shows etc where perhaps one broadcasting company could talk about an issue and provide us with certain information, events and facts of what happened, while another broadcaster would write about the same topic or issue and provide us with different information and ideas which gives us different perspectives on the truth, this makes depending on the perspective one that is true and the other a lie or a fabrication. Evidently, two information centres and providers provided different perspectives of the same event showing and the bias. This shows that truths and lies are subjective perceptions and will vary for each
The introduction of the internet to modern society has brought about a new age of information relation. Since there is no longer a need to wait until the next print day, news from all over the world is available at a person’s fingertips within hours or even minutes of the event. With this advent of such easily accessible information, new problems for the news media have also arisen. Aside from potentially losing good economic standing because newspapers are no longer being purchased in the quantities they used to be, the credibility of the information itself is also put into question. No one would argue that credibility of news sources is unimportant, but there is a discrepancy in what takes precedence; economy and speed or getting the information out correctly at the first publishing by taking the time to make sure all facts are checked. The importance of having a system of checks on all information submitted is paramount. People trust what they read and believe it to be so without always questioning. If all information were to not be checked thoroughly, there would be instances where people read an article only for information included to be wrong and they go on believing such information. This can be very dangerous as misinformed people make misinformed decisions. With an increase in errors being made by citizen bloggers and even major publications, many are worried that journalistic ethics and credibility in the news media are being sacrificed in order to maintain swiftness in the news circuit and to retain personal profits. Though getting information to the masses quickly is a major part of the media’s importance, this should not mean that the credibility of that information being presented should be sacrificed for it...