Media Bias Essay

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Unfortunately media now in days is so biased that people are left to find the truth behind the stories provided themselves. There are 6 main news sources most people turn to when wanting to obtain new information and that is ABC, CBS, FOX, CNN, NBC, and MSNBC news. The preferred news show usually varies based on age, politics, education, and among other aspects. Most of these shows with the exception of Fox news are biased since only one side of the news is given and people don’t realize this because they don’t take the time to research or even question the other sides. John McManus in the article, Seeking Truth in Journalism, affirms, “We’ve never had so much information at our fingertips. Nor so much misinformation.”(5) Mcmanus agrees that there is plenty of information provided, but one has to decide whether it is logical or not. All the information is out there, but there are a lot of people …show more content…

The SMELL test is a simple uncomplicated guide to help identify bias and true journalism and not get fooled. The very first step is to identify the source and if it is free of interest; where is the information is coming from or who is providing it? Then, learn the motivation behind the message; why is it being provided? Identify the tone and decide whether the information is attributed to reliable sources. Is the motivation behind the text to sell a point of view or an attempt to try and get the people to be on that same side? Next, analyze all the evidence given; is it trustworthy? If so, the evidence should then be logical. Ultimately, is anything relevant or necessary left out? Is every point of view given in order to make their case as well? This test has been developed for the best interest of the people and is assured to work identify bias in journalism and other factors as

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