Background: Media bias

The experience shown in the narrative is just one example of how media bias can affect one’s life. The news media is the cumulative body by which information is delivered to individuals within a population. Media bias is a slant within the news media that includes opinions instead of facts. Media bias in many ways can produce injustices. Also, the news media has an unrivaled ability to affect the lives of ordinary citizens by reporting opinion as fact. Some of the injustices that we will be investigating are: the fact that reporters can be fired from their jobs when they refuse to lie in the news, the manipulation of naïve people by untruthful broadcasts and the sensationalism of the news media.
The first injustice that we will be investigating is that people are being fired from their jobs due to media bias. People have come to expect that an industry specializing in the distribution of news should be free from personal bias. Most news programs even advertise the fact that they produce even, unbiased news like Fox News whose slogan is Fair and Balanced. The fact remains, however, that most news channels are heavily influenced by the biased opinions of program hosts, writers and producers. People employed within these biased companies find themselves at the center of a complicated situation: either conform to the status quo, or be fired. It is not fair that these men and women must choose between keeping their jobs and keeping their integrity. An example of this injustice is seen within Fox News Channel as reporters have claimed that they were asked by the producers to openly lie on television, when these reporters refused to lie, they were promptly fired (Greenwald). The courts have even ruled that there is no current law on the books outlawing telling lies on a news program. Former Fox reporter Jon Du Pre claims that he was released from the employ of Fox after his broadcast of the opening of the Reagan Presidential Library wasn’t “celebratory enough” (Greenwald).
The next injustice produced by the bias within the media is the purposeful manipulation of the naïve. During the broadcasts of many news shows, the programs themselves contain inflammatory speech and suggestive comments. Though these comments appear innocent enough to average viewers, they often contain harmful or evocative imagery. Rush Limbaugh stated on his show that there are “gazillions of similarities between National Socialism in Germany and Obama’s healthcare plan” (Lederman). This statement takes advantage of the naïveté of those ignorant of President Obama’s plan. By taking advantage of these naïve people, Rush Limbaugh is able to effectively control their opinions. Bill O’Reilly, a Fox News Host, was found in a study by Indiana University to use a derogatory name every 6.8 seconds during his broadcast (Ingram). Other news sources such as Rush Limbaugh knowingly distort the truth in order for their own views to be progressed. One clear example of the intentional distortion of the truth in order to advance oneself involves Glenn Beck. Beck became a paid spokesperson for a company called “Goldline International” (Ingram). Months later, Beck began to feature the CEO of the company on his show, read live commercials during his radio broadcast, all while feeding his viewers fears about the instability of the dollar. The article written by Ingram also states that most of the revenue for news programs comes from commercial advertisers and not from the viewers, calling into question the reporters objectivity. This particular instance shows a conflict presented to Glenn Beck where he had to decide between legitimacy and monetary endorsements.
The last injustice we will be examining that was made by media bias is the sensationalism of the news. In recent years, local and national news have been observed to have shifted their focus onto news stories containing some form of eye-catching information. This shift in the news has also come with consequences. When using this eye-catching news, the media can focus on stereotypes that breed fear in the viewer. Within his news broadcast Glenn Beck, while talking about Barack Obama, stated that “I’ve been saying that we’re headed towards a Mussolini-style presidency forever” (Lederman). In connecting Obama with a fascist dictator, Glenn Beck created an unfair connotation towards a political opponent. While causing the viewer to return to the news channel for more news, this strategy can also perpetuate wrong stereotypes, like that all black men are dangerous and should be avoided. Michael Moore presents in his documentary a theory that shows such as “Cops” focus on minorities in order to play to stereotypes and to get more viewers to watch (Moore). Also, sensationalism of the news comes into play during news broadcasts: “Ann Coulter, as a guest on Hannity and Colmes, called Obama’s autobiography a ‘dime store Mein Kampf’” (Lederman). The oppressed in this injustice are the minorities who have public opinion shaped by sensationalized news. People may make racial judgments on people depending on what they had heard on the nightly news.
The oppressors in the case of media bias are those news reporters, producers and hosts that intentionally bend the news in order to further their own political, economic or other agendas. These oppressors show themselves as liberators or prophets that tell of an impending doom. Using this strategy, show hosts such as Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly can effectively present their own opinions disguised as facts. Indiana University researchers have stated from a report that “the Fox News personality consistently paints certain people and groups as villains and others as victims to present the world, as he sees it, through political rhetoric”(Ingram). Through rhetoric, it is easy for these oppressors to increase their foundation of supporters and to mislead them.
The social systems involved in media bias are the shows themselves. Within their own shows, news hosts try to paint themselves as crusaders against some form of injustice. By presenting themselves as social crusaders, these hosts are able to gain wide support for themselves. Another system involved in media bias is the existence of companies that own news channels. For example, Fox News is owned by Rupert Murdoch. The political views of this one owner have the possibility of influencing every employee in the news channel under threat of losing their jobs.
The response of the world has mostly been one of apathy. Most people seem complacent with the fact that there is a persistent bias within our media. It must be acknowledged that the fault of media bias cannot solely be laid upon the heads of those perpetuating the bias. A portion of the blame should also be placed on those who know of the media bias and continue to watch the programming. However, there are people who do acknowledge that media bias is a problem that must be addressed. Although containing bias within their satirical comedy program, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have become some of the most prominent muckrakers for the accuracy of the news industry. Often, it is said that the media has a liberal or conservative bias. While this is true, the media is filled with many opinionated reporters that are biased towards many views. This makes the bias within our media indistinguishable between conservative or liberal.
When dealing with media bias, it is important to note that media bias has the potential to affect almost every household in America due to the widespread availability of news programming. Almost every household in America actively watches, reads or listens to some form of news. This fact makes it even more important to know the far reaching effects of media bias. Media bias can affect people’s employment, naïve people’s opinions and how people view others, due to sensationalized news.