BIAS IN THE MEDIA

Wait, what?!

You mean they didn’t tell me the whole story?!

What is this message “saying” about the military and possibly about war? Write for a minute and then pair share.

What is this picture “saying” about war? Write for two minutes & then pair share.

Message Purpose? Whole group discussion.

BIAS The Oxford Dictionary defines bias as

the following:

“inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair.”

BIAS And

“a concentration on or interest in one particular area or subject”

What might YOU be biased about as a teenager?

What is Objectivity?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition: expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations.

Is there such thing as an objective news source?

Write down your thoughts for two minutes & then pair share with a neighbor.

In our lives, it has had an impact on:

School

Work Life

Does bias have an impact on what you hear on the radio or television? Accessibility of internet material? Can you think of anything else?

Has your view of these pictures changed at all?

Reflection1. What did you learn that you did not

know previously?

2.How can you use this information

going forward?

3.What would you still like to learn, or

what do you feel you need more

information about?

How to detect bias in the news

Bias through placement Page 1- “Teen shoots man at bus stop!!”

Page 35 – “Teens collect turkeys to feed the homeless”.

Bias through selection and

omission Class choices:

Canadian lit.

American lit.

British lit.

Not offered: African lit

Bias through selection and

omission Class choices:

Canadian lit.

American lit.

British lit.

Not offered: African lit

BIAS in news headlines

Bias by photos, captions, and camera angles

Bias by names and titles “Bill Gates the ex-con”

Bias by names and titles “Bill Gates the multimillion dollar

philanthropist”

Bias through statistics and crowd counts “Fifty people injured in crash!!!”

Only 7% of passengers sustained minor injuries.

Bias through statistics and crowd counts To make a disaster appear more

spectacular, (and therefore worthy of reading about), numbers can be inflated. “A hundred injured in plane crash can be the same thing as “Only minor injuries in air crash” reflecting the opinion of the one doing the counting.

Bias through statistics and crowd counts If 714 people were on board, and 7%

were injured, that would make it 50 people.

Bias by source control

To detect bias, always consider where the news item “comes from”.

Ex. Eukanuba dog food. Website says it has “Superior nutrition”. Does it really?

Where’s the bias?

Word choice and tone

Pushy vs. assertive?

Skinny vs. slim?

Reckless vs. daring?

Ex. Eye witness testimony of car crash.

Final thoughts

Wisdom for peacemakers

1. Never listen only to one side (prov. 18.17)

2. Don’t get pulled into the conflict (James 3:17)

3. Always side with what is right.

4. Be prepared to pay a price (success is not guaranteed and people might get upset with you)

5. Anticipate the harvest of righteousness.