How to Detect Bias in the News

Bias by headline

Bias by photos, captions and camera angles

Bias through use of names and titles Bill Gates the ex con In 1977 the owner of Microsoft was arrested for driving without a license and not stopping at a stop sign. This wasn’t the first time he got arrested though. In 1975 he was arrested for driving without a license and speeding. In 1989 he was arrested for driving drunk but that charge was reduced later on.

Bill Gates the Multimillion Dollar Philanthropist

Bias through statistics and crowd counts Fifty people injured in Air Crash!

Only 7% of passengers sustained minor injuries 50 out of 700

To make a disaster seem more spectacular (and therefore worthy of reading about), numbers can be inflated. "A hundred injured in aircrash" can be the same as "only minor injuries in air crash," reflecting the opinion of the person doing the counting.

If 714 people were onboard, & 7% were injured this would mean 50 people

Bias by source control To detect bias, always consider where the news item "comes from."

Word choice and tone Pushy or Assertive? skinny or slim? reckless or daring?

Pretend Magazine Please turn the pages of this fake magazine and using your media awareness information sheet see if you can spot bias.

Memories of Hurricane Katrina Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area in New Orleans, Louisiana.(AFP/Getty Images/Chris Graythen) Page 2

Friday meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as the Obama administration tried to prevent Israeli-Palestinian peace talks from collapsing. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spent nearly a half-hour Page 3

Let’s look at teen magazines Page 3

Page 4