We exist in a world where news is always swirling about. Whether on the internet or television, reports are dictated to the public at all hours.
However, a question arises: is everything reported truthful and objective?
The real answer is that these reports succumb to biases; therefore, being aware of the media’s potential bias is critical in being a responsible citizen.
The concept of media bias is often focused on extreme partisanship and deception, yet such a view makes it sound as if the media is outright lying, which oversimplifies the issue; in reality, it exists more subtly, where it is relative to societal, cultural and institutional conditions.
Rather than evident distortions, media bias is used through the specialized selection and omission of narratives. For instance, a far-right outlet may cover more instances of governmental overreach, whereas a far-left outlet may focus on greater income disparities. This doesn’t necessarily make either story wrong.
Still, if people fail to seek alternative routes of news, their understandings will become skewed over time.
As Leo Canni ‘28 mentions, “Media bias doesn’t change anybody’s original beliefs; it strengthens them. It creates an echo chamber effect that can at times incite an increase in resistance to opposing viewpoints.”
Canni’s point shows the reality of people only focusing on what they already believe to be true and denouncing any opposition as false information. This system leads to less openness to counterarguments and different perspectives, therefore leading to a lack of growth in one’s views.
Another indicator of media bias comes from how a story is presented. The precise language used and the context applied around interviews can mean the difference between how information is interpreted. For example, one outlet may declare a group of protestors to be a “peaceful demonstration,” and another may describe them as a “violent mob.”
Understanding this phenomenon exists in real-life media is not hard to find: outlets such as CNN and MSNBC lean more left-of-center, whereas The Daily Caller and Fox News tend to lean right.
Jack Wagner ‘28 adds, “Voters today are more passionate and angrier because they’re exposed to radical ideas that get attention, clicks and dollars for news networks.”
The competition for news is so intense that objectivity is now not the number one priority. If a story is going to anger people, it’s likely the story will be posted in comparison to an objective story that may not generate as many views (and dollars).
If people pay attention, we can become more informed and reduce how much media bias affects the formation of our own opinions.