Essay Sample on Media and Biases

Introduction

Media bias is a plague that affects us every day without us realizing. We see it in the news, in our favorite sitcoms, and in the newspaper. Media bias is present in every aspect of media but the problem is it's hard for a regular person to recognize it. It is almost impossible to get a straightforward answer from the media on any major topic. This media bias is more often than not slants towards the liberal viewpoints since the media representative reports their liberal views. Major networks use reporters and journalists to strongly denounce the suggestion that they favor one side when it comes to being politically bias. This paper will discuss media bias more towards progressive liberal values and conservative values.

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Whether the media is biased towards the progressive-liberals, conservatives or both the groups is a question that is often asked. The reason why many people believe that the media is biased is that often than not, it is very difficult to get a straight answer regarding major topics from the media. All the Media have the target audience that they target to view and hear the information that they have for them. This makes the media to cut the information that they have in bits so that only what they intend for their audience will get to them. This clearly shows that although the media strongly objects to being biased, it is indeed biased. Often the media tends to lean towards one side either towards the progressive-liberals or towards the conservatives or even discriminates against both of them.

Media are biased during the election time. We find that the media ignore the news that tends to disprove liberal or conservative claims. They also omit the news within a story that supports liberal beliefs. The media report the news on one side which their facts favor. People should be informed about the conformist and liberal viewpoints on recent issues to detect any bias from the media. They should see that both sides of the news are included in the story. Media are biased when they use certain phrases like "experts believe" while delivering the news or the story. The stories that they use experts they ensure that about an equivalent number of conformists or liberals are quoted. They use sources in their story to emphasize on one side which is being biased.

Media bias by labeling politicians is so common today. The media personalities tag conformist politicians and groups with exciting labels while exiting liberal candidates. The reporter also fails to identify a liberal in the news by replacing it with a different description like an expert. This bias only occurs on only one side either in liberal or conservative. The reporters also have a habit of only interpreting one side of a story of an event or policy. They may also over summarize one side of a story which they don't like. The editors only approve the side that he/she considers important. This is bias because the editor cannot be the judge of what the public will view or listen to. Both sides should be equally represented and balanced.

Media bias is presented in many ways. When a journalist only reports from one side of the story and use phrases from the witnesses, media bias is presented. Some opt not to mention liberal or the conservative side of the story completely. The reporters also portray bias by making the side they favor appear more appealing a good example is during elections where there are two candidates. The reports pick one side that he/she desires. In most cases, the journalist tends to vote on the liberal side of the situations and completely ignore the conservative side. When asked the media always deny being bias on the job and claim to be only telling the news the fairest way. However, despite their claim, the news always reaches to the public being with oddly left sided tone. People should be very keen in such bias occurrence and demand for fair treatment when it comes to news.

Media biases are so evident that it is hard to deny that they exist. All the news outlets lean towards the side of the narrative that has an eye-catching story leaving the other side untold. Conservatives have a better way of telling the tale since it is so vivid in many ways inclusive of the personnel movement. For example, in the United States, Bill Keller became the executive editor of The Times after being a New York Times columnist who largely took liberal stands. This shows how 'rewarding' it is for journalists who are unfamiliar with conservative viewpoints. The liberal topics such as ''property rights' are put in the breaking news or scare quotes while those such as 'abortion rights 'are not. Conservatives are aliens in many media houses and if covered they receive a slanted coverage which leaves them believing that the media houses are out to get them. These shows are the media representative only deliver the news that will favor their side for personal gain.

Media bias towards conservative groups is also very common. For example, at the end of President Barrack Obama's presidency, the United States of America today editorial recorded that the president's administration had been scandal free leaving the conservatives rightfully upset. The claims were parroted by many journalists including the NBC News' Tom Brokav without the considerations of Republican investigations into the IRS'S targeting of conservative groups and the investigations towards president Obama's administration. Failure to acknowledge the actual scandals investigated by Congress clearly shows how many media houses would not dare challenge Obama's administration due to the much cozy relationship they had with him.

According to the recent polling researches done Public confidence in media has declined.32% of the defendants in Gallup's most current national election agreed to have trust in the mass media. There was an 80% decreased compared to 2015 polls. In the year 2016, the respondents who had trust in media dropped to 14%. This was the lowest confidence reported among the Republicans in 20years. This drop was recorded both from young and old respondents. It was the first time in America the assurance in the media fell below 40%. Both Republicans and Democratic aspirants had censured the media for being prejudiced and unfair. The confidence of the media in America has continued to decrease since the media has become more bias.

Conclusion

In conclusion, people rely on reporters to report factual news and to deliver political points which will help them to make the correct decision during the election. However, the media has blinded the public by being bias where they only deliver one-sided news. Since the public has no time to research on the story they end up believing the biased news. This should be a wakeup call to the public not to believe everything the media report since they only report stories they feel they want it to reach the public. This has been supported by the recent polls taken showing that media usually does not get the facts straight. Media should consistently be objective by reporting all information the people need to help them make a democratic choice.

References

Anderson, Brian C. South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias. Regnery Publishing, 2005.

Lee, Tien-Tsung. "The liberal media myth revisited: An examination of factors influencing perceptions of media bias." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 49.1 (2005): 43-64.

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/11/11/why-has-trust-trust-in-the-news-media-decline

www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/09/public-confidence-in-the-media--falls-to-all-time-low-2016-228168