Public Opinion & Faction Module 5.4: Media Bias

What is Bias? Expression of preference for or opposition to –Ideas –Places –Populations –Communities –Policies –Modes of communication Selective observation and reporting May be conscious or unconscious –“objective reporting”: a Myth of 20 th Century American media Consciously abandoned in 1984 with the end of the ‘equal time rule’

What kinds of bias? Partisan –Favors a particular party or a partisan agenda –The “Partisan Press”: more overt outside US –Example Sydney Herald=Australian Conservative Party “mouthpiece” Ideological –Favors a particular ideological preference –Often confused with partisan bias –Examples Reason magazine=libertarian press Mother Jones=‘liberal’ press The Weekly Standard= neo-conservative press

What kinds of bias? Demographic –Favors a particular demographic audience geography profession or trade gender parental status age ethnic group

Not So Obvious Biases Sensational –Shock value –Salacious gossip –scandal Negativity –“Bad News” –“If it bleeds, it leads” Narrative –Every news item a “story” –Elements of a story Setting Timing Conflict –Protagonists –Antagonists Rising action Climax Denouement

And Finally… Profit –Most media organizations in the US are private, for profit interests –Or else are owned by private, for-profit corporations Who owns your favorite news source?