Biases

Rebecca Jones Professor Bill Prince PLS 101, Section 117 April 27, 2010 Media Biases Extra credit I would have to say yes when asked the question “Do I feel the media are biased”. There are many ways this is found to be true. I would say they are biased first by commission, which is a pattern of passing along assumptions or errors that tend to support a left wing or liberal view. The next one I would list would be bias by omission, this is when ignoring facts that tend to disprove liberal or left wing claims, or that support conservative beliefs. There is also bias by story selection. This would be a pattern of highlighting news stories that coincide with the agenda of the Left while ignoring stories that coincide with the agenda of the Right. Then there would be bias by placement, this happens when there is a pattern of placing news stories so as to downplay information supportive of conservative views. As well as Bias by the Selection of Sources, This bias can be seen when a reporter uses such phrases as "experts believe," "observers say," or "most people think." The bias by spin is when emphasizing aspects of a policy favorable to liberals without noting aspects favorable to conservatives; putting out the liberal interpretation of what an event means while giving little or no time or space to explaining the conservative interpretation. There is also bias by labeling, this is when someone is attaching a label to conservatives but not to liberals; using more extreme labeling for conservatives than for liberals; identifying a liberal person or group as an "expert" or as independent. Lastly there is bias by Policy Recommendation or Condemnation, this is when a reporter goes beyond reporting and endorses the liberal view of which policies should be enacted, or affirms the liberal criticism of current or past policies. I wouldn’t say media biases are either good or bad, they are simply part of life. I suppose if you don’t want to hear them you would have to quit watching television, listening to the radio, reading the paper and getting on the Internet. I can say without a doubt that there is not one person in the world that isn’t bias about something. It is just part of human nature. What matters the most is how you react when you hear the things people have to say.