TODAY’S AGENDA Complete bias audit & journal responses Read: “How web journalism can make

people seem hateful” aloud and discuss Palin & O’Reilly clips

Written Response: What place, if any, do bias news outlets have in our society?

Time to work on story ideas, set up interviews, meet with Mr. Novak, etc.

HOMEWORK: have a story proposal tomorrow if you

do not get one to Mr. Novak today

THE OFFICE QUOTE OF THE WEEK"Andy Bernard does not lose

contests. He wins them…or quits because they're unfair."

Bias Audit Journal

Do you have any biases that you were unaware of?

Do you let these biases affect you in any way? [consuming media, judging people, etc.]

Do your parents/any adults in you know have biases? What effect do you think age has on biases?

How do biases affect your everyday life? How can biases affect any stories you may write

for the school website.

How web journalism…Palin Video

How web journalism…O’Reilly Audio

Fox News Channel

A Public Policy Polling nationwide survey of 1,151 registered voters Jan. 18-19, 2010 found that: 49% of Americans trusted Fox News, 10% points more than any other

network. 37% said they didn’t trust Fox–the lowest level. 74% of Republicans trust network, 30% of Democrats

“A generation ago you would have expected Americans to place their trust in the most neutral and unbiased conveyors of news,” said PPP President Dean Debnam in his analysis of the poll. “But the media landscape has really changed, and now they’re turning more toward the outlets that tell them what they want to hear.”

Critics have asserted that both Fox's news reporting and its political commentary promote conservative political positions, but their slogans include: "Fair & Balanced” and "We Report. You Decide.”

Cable News Networks

CNN: the first ever 24 hour news channel; accused by some as having a liberal bias, a “Western bias,” or a bias against certain figures (John McCain).

MSNBC: accused of a liberal bias at times as well as a conservative bias at times

Political News Aggregators

DRUDGE REPORT a news aggregation site that consists mainly of links to stories

from the United States and international mainstream media about politics, entertainment, and current events as well as links to many columnists.

famous for being first to publish story about Clinton/Lewinsky scandal after Newsweek decided not to publish it

is considered conservative in tone HUFFINGTON POST

a liberal/progressive American news website and aggregated blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring various news sources and columnists

was launched on May 9, 2005, as a commentary outlet and alternative to conservative news websites like the Drudge Report

Bias in The Huffington Post?

In mid-February 2008, after former First Lady Nancy Reagan fell at her California home, negative comments about the then-86-year-old former first lady were posted in the public comment section of the website by members of the public.

Bill O'Reilly of Fox News accused the website of publishing “hate speech” towards conservatives because they did not censor the posts.

Arianna Huffington said that hateful comments are not tolerated and are taken down as soon as they come to the attention of the blog's moderators.

Biased Media

What place, if any, do biased media members or outlets have in our society? What good, if any, comes from

them? What bad comes from them?