Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Clarifying: What is Media Bias?

The topic that I have chosen consists of two, equally important components. The first is media and according to the Oxford Dictionary, media is “the main means of communication (especially television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet) regarded collectively”. The second component of my topic is bias, which can be defined as a “prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair”.


Media can come in different kinds of forms or categories. For example, there is the standard television, radio, newspaper, and Internet. Social media (a fairly new means of communication), includes sources such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter etc. can also be categorized as media. All of these categories can have a bias opinion.

Media bias has an astounding affect on the American people, especially during important elections. According to a Washington Times article titled “Pernicious effects of media bias”, they believe, “that the media has such an influence is a strong claim but is backed up by the science.” The article goes on to state that media, politically, often has a liberal bias and because of this, American’s are affected on a lot of issues in the United States.
There are numerous companies that are involved in media, almost all of which have a bias, to some degree. From Television Networks such as Fox News and NBC, to newspapers like The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times to social media networks like Twitter and Facebook.
National Public Radio, a radio station that focuses on delivering news, is one of the better known non-profit organizations relating to media. Although they are fairly unbiased politically, they have been accused of showing a liberal bias. However, according to Forbes Magazine, this may be true, but to a very small degree.


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