MEDIA BIAS

What it Looks Like, Why it Matters

MEDIA BIAS: A WORKING DEFINITION

• The real or perceived limitation of the press to be objective in their newsgathering and reporting.

• Media bias is also derogatively called “spin.” You may hear politicians say: “The media spun that story to make me look bad. That is not how it happened.”

WHAT CAUSES BIAS?

1. A non-diverse newsroom.2. Pressure from advertisers & interest

groups.3. Reduced funding due to lower ratings.4. Government funding cuts.5. Political affiliations that arise from the

ideological positions of media owners and journalists.

6. A culture of sensationalism.

Source: Fair.org

A “NON-DIVERSE” NEWSROOM

Cause #1

NEWSROOM DIVERSITY: THE STATS

• The American Society of Newspaper Editors conducted a survey in 2007.

• Of the 932 newspapers that responded, nearly half (42%) had no minorities on their full-time staff.

• This is an increase from 2006, when 377 daily newspapers had no full-time minority journalists.

NO REPRESENTATION = MISREPRESENTATION?

• Nearly 57,000 full-time journalists now work in daily newsrooms.

• About 7,800 are people of color.

• Watch this video. As a lone minority in the newsroom, would you have aired it? Is it news? Is it biased?

PRESSURE FROM ADVERTISERS

Cause #2

PRESSURE FROM ADVERTISERS

• Media companies sell audiences to advertisers. Advertisers pay lots of $$.

• If major companies pay big bucks for ads, they certainly do not like to read or see news reports that make their products or services look bad.

• So, advertisers develop a disproportionate power over media companies.

• Even “non-profit” news companies like PBS or NPR are given grants by major corporations.

THE TOP 10 MEDIA ADVERTISERS OF 2008

Rank Parent Company Ad Dollars

Spent1 Procter &

Gamble Co.$2,342,319,3

972 General Motors

Corp.$1,441,747,3

993 AT&T Inc. $1,317,893,3

774 Verizon $1,125,700,5

125 Johnson &

Johnson$1,059,109,1

386 Time Warner Inc. $878,355,332

7 Toyota Motor Corp. $819,377,026

8 General Electric Co. $807,869,688

9 Ford Motor Co. $742,708,529

10 Pepsico Inc. $730,503,931Source: Nielsen

WHICH COMPANIES AVOIDED BAD PRESS...UNTIL RECENTLY?

Rank Parent Company Ad Dollars

Spent1 Procter &

Gamble Co.$2,342,319,3

972 General Motors

Corp.$1,441,747,3

993 AT&T Inc. $1,317,893,3

774 Verizon $1,125,700,5

125 Johnson &

Johnson$1,059,109,1

386 Time Warner Inc. $878,355,332

7 Toyota Motor Corp. $819,377,026

8 General Electric Co. $807,869,688

9 Ford Motor Co. $742,708,529

10 Pepsico Inc. $730,503,931Source: Nielsen

Did you hear: the gov’t tapS YOUR CELL?

• Probably not.• Verizon and AT&T

are the main culprits.

• Pres. Bush allowed them to do so for “national security,” then granted them immunity from lawsuits.

• NSA official, Russell Tice blew the whistle. Watch the video.

Q: What are the dangers of a government spying on its people, 24/7?

LOW RATINGS = REVENUE

Cause #3

The ratINGS GAME

• Until 1963, nightly news lasted only 15 minutes.*

• In June 1980, Ted Turner launched CNN. It was the first 24-hour news channel.

• Suddenly, CNN had to report exciting news...even when there really wasn’t any. Other copycats sprung up and the competition for eyeballs began.

* Source: Does 24-hour news cycle overwhelm us with too much doom and gloom?

AUDIENCE WARS

GOVERNMENT FUNDING CUTS

Cause #4

POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS

Cause #5

A CULTURE OF SENSATIONALISM

Cause #6