Detecting Media Bias

Detecting Media Bias


Detecting Media Bias
Media bias is the bias or perceived bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term media bias implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article. The direction and degree of media bias in various countries is widely disputed. One case that has been on the news for a while now is the case of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. This took place in Florida and has been on the media all the time. It started taking over the news when the crime happened and through the jury selection and the trial. Zimmerman was accused of killing Trayvon Martin a teen during a neighborhood watch. The media was providing the facts that they were given but where not reporting all of the facts in order to keep their viewers interested. Not all of their information was accurate either, and the information was bias because the reports were on what others thought, and their opinions on the story. While the trail was going on there was some new information that came up, however the information that was reported at the time it happened was all left out. Media reporters are usually just journalists that give their opinion of the stories so at the same time other stations are saying different things so then you don’t get the real facts and your being forced to choose which side you believe. Media has a tremendous power in setting cultural guidelines and in shaping political discourse. It is essential that news media, along with other institutions are challenged to be fair and accurate. The first step in challenging biased news coverage is documenting bias. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself about the stories you hear about. Who are the sources? Is there a lack of diversity? From which point of view is the news reported? Are there...