...II. Literature Review Robert Entman posits two types of media biases: content bias, where media content shows regular patterns of slant towards specific candidates or ideology, and decision-based bias, where reporters and editors contribute to slant through their personal beliefs and opinions. He also emphasizes how journalists, though nominally barred from allowing personal ideology to permeate into print, often express other non-partisan notions of decision-making bias, such as through candidate competence or momentum. Time as a necessary independent variable allows for shifts in bias to occur, where Entman points to positive coverage of John McCain’s announcement of Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee through the delayed response...
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...“Media portrayals have the potential to both shape and reflect societal attitudes and their examination therefore has broader implications.” (Sommers et al. 2006). What we consume on television, internet, and entertainment influences our perception of society. Such imagery develops a cultural lens that can reinforce the perception of an idea or group. Be that as it may, this can cause problems that skew and distort the information presented. The gatekeepers of the media are among the small, but dominant group who control it, and presents a narrative that rakes in profits. Given these points, one should take note of the media portrayals between different races on the news. Mass media has used sensationalism that depicts people of color in a negative light compared to whites, and due to these discrepancies, these harmful portrayals contribute to widespread racism. Such portrayals blur the cultural image of certain groups of people. For instance, in the article, Racial Bias and Media Coverage of Violent Crime, reported a study that found out that 51% of blacks are arrested for violent crime in New York City, however, “75% of...
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...It’s likely an understatement to say that media bias and protests have a large effect on the public’s perception of an election. Protests have come to be common-place during election periods and inaugurations, especially when the majority of the public disagrees with the nominee(s). For instance, during the 2008 election in which President Obama was elected for his first term, many effigies and flags were burned in protest. Most of the protesters held signs demanding that Obama show his papers or go back to his own country, but this was not the only case of such occurrences. In the most recent election, there were marches and rallies, both for and against Trump and Hillary Clinton. In addition to this, both were the reason behind flag burnings, as well as the hanging/burning of effigies. The media scrutinized both...
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...It has always been said that there is bias in the media. This essay will focus on one type of bias; that in article headlines. To start we have Article 1, and two different sites that both offer headlines. The first headline reads, "Obama Bureaucrats Imposing Radical Homosexual Sensitivity Training", from Fox Nation, a branch of Fox News, a news source that is widely considered to be radically conservative. The second headline, on the same issue, reads, "USDA gay-sensitivity training seeks larger audience", from The Washington Times, another conservative news outlet, yet generally considered less radical than Fox News. These two headlines are both meant to lead readers to read on and find out more, but as seen in the Fox Nation headline, crass language is used to gather attention, with media buzzwords like 'radical' and 'imposing'. These words have a negative connotation and therefore the reader goes into the article with a negative mindset. If the reader was to click on this article, they would soon see that the article is just as negative as the headline. The very short article, mentions that activists compare heterosexism (the belief...
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...world, as alarming or controversial they may be. Jennifer Lawrence decided to voice out her own frustrations at the sexist industry she’s working in and took her stance on Hollywood’s gender pay gap issue. Her essay about the topic went viral as soon as she released it and media outlets were all over it. Most were quick to jump on equal pay bandwagon, applauding her efforts in giving a voice to the issue whereas only a few opinion pieces took a stance against the popular opinion and discussed what was wrong with the points Lawrence had made. The two opinion pieces I will be comparing both present a different angle and point of view on the gender gap essay and...
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...Bias is “Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair,” as defined by the oxford dictionary. History is a subject that studies the history of the past events where historians express their judgment. In the recorded history, we often come across cases were we are able to discern bias in ones viewpoint. Few years ago, India experienced one of the most disastrous terrorist attacks on the decade. The 2008 Mumbai attacks, which dated from the 26th November 2008 to 29th November 2008. There was a lot of controversy as to who was the main culprit of these attacks. The ties between the two countries – India and Pakistan have been frail and contentious, therefore before any evidence was brought to the eyes of the world; already a lot of bias was perceptible not only by the Indian media but also American officials. Through this essay I want to objectively explore the confirmation bias that is deeply woven into the fabric of the language used by the media to inform us about the history of the Mumbai attacks. Confirmation bias is a “is a tendency of people to favor information that confirms their beliefs or hypotheses.” Looking back at the history of India and Pakistan, the bond between the two countries has been extremely fragile. Any mishap in the two countries automatically victimizes the other one and vice versa. The modern world can be referred to as the information society as every individual or...
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... * * * Representation Of Race In Media * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Much of our perceptions of the world are based on narratives and the images that we see in film, television, radio, music, and other media. These are some of the outlets that construct how individuals see their social identities, as well as learn and understand about what it is to be black, white, Native American, Asian, South American, etc. (Dow, Wood, 2006, p. 297). You will get a better understanding of this once you understand the concept of ideologies. Ideologies are what create our perception of the world around us, whether it is political, social, economic, etc. Ideologies are not the product of individual intention or conscious, rather we create our intentions within ideology (Marris, Thornham, 2000, p. 267). These ideologies exist before we are even born; they form the social constructions and conditions that we are born into. But, ideologies are just a practice, and it is produced and reproduced in apparatus of ideological production. The media is a great example of an apparatus of ideological production (Marris, Thornham, 2000, p. 273). It produces social meanings and distributes them throughout society. However, as long as ideologies continue so will social struggles such as racism, which we will discuss in this essay. Media elites represent different races through media based on their ideologies. This has a predominant...
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...Russell Yarmus 10/18/13 COM 450 Ethics Essay Within the vast world of communication in this country, there are many aspects of ethical issues that present themselves within each field. Media practitioners of all sorts face these ethical dilemmas often, especially when dealing with honestly reporting or relaying information to their surrounding society. Specifically the individuals, who work in journalism, the news, or public relations, face these issue within their code of ethics on a daily basis. Journalists and news agencies have an obligation to their field and society to report the information they have gathered truthfully and absolutely impartially to the people. If a journalist reports a story about someone that is bias or untrue, they are breaking the code of ethics within their field. Although many people view the news and journalism as two totally different forms of reporting, both have to use the same code of ethics when reporting a story. With so many different sources of news outlets and journalists in this country, we often may hear slightly different information between outlets while dealing with the same story. If all news outlets are supposed to report what they learn truthfully, impartially and fairly then the facts within a report should not change depending on the news outlet it is coming from. Media bias is something that has been going on since the beginning of media practice in this country. There are many factors that can make one news outlet...
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...The Media Influence in Politics: an essay INTRODUCTION The news media, television in particular, affect and influence the political arena in Canada. The media ownership, the few elites and their political connections play a huge role in this topic of influence. The major differences between the French media and English media will be seen. The interpretation done by media and its impacts to the public will be discussed, as well as polling and voting. The aim of this essay is to argue that the news media, television in particular, influence the political arena in Canada. This will be accomplished through the sub-headings and their corresponding paragraphs in the Discussion. DISCUSSION The media and political influences With the media owned by a few firms, the supposed objectivity and neutrality are being compromised which in turn contribute to the detriment of the public. Most of the people rely on television media for news, information, weather, and so on. With the increase in viewers, the media run the risk of political influences. Politicians establish relationships with the media, so that when the right time comes, politicians can expect a return on elections. An example is when the media indirectly in some way or form cleverly "endorse" the political party to the voting public. Fraudulent connection between media and politics In a perfect world, the media ideally should serve and safeguard the public and its interests. To do this, the media should...
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...06/17/2016 Essay #2: Is Gender Bias Noticeable in Literature? In this essay I would be investigating if there are any gender biases in the short stories and the movie Gone Girl. By definition gender bias is, “Inclination towards or prejudice against one gender” (Collins). Although gender bias is mostly thought of being against women there has been a subtler bias against men most recently in movies. Therefore, in this essay I would be considering gender biases of both men and women. In the short story “The Short Happy life of Francis Macomber” the author Ernest Hemmingway treats both genders equally. Both Wilson and Mrs. Macomber are portrayed as opportunists. He has no compunction in accepting the silly advances of Macomber’s wife. She marries Macomber for his money and social position. They both have a cruel streak. He (illegally) beats his helpers, knowing that they would rather take the beating than lose money (fines). She is cruel to her husband, openly despising his weaknesses, and deliberately flaunting her infidelities. In contrast, “I Want a Wife” the author Judy Brady has gender bias. The woman portrayed in the composition is resentful of the quality of life experienced by women in general, who, as wives, have to cater to their husband’s every need and whim. Husbands are portrayed as lazy, selfish and inconsiderate, not even pulling their weight as fathers of their children. Moreover, in the short story “Shiloh” the author Bobby Ann Mason has gender bias. Norma Jean...
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...personally believe that I have grown in my writing. I do know that I have some problem areas in my writing, however. When I start with a rough draft I always write in first person. I have some trouble with my grammar, but I continue to grow as I further my education. My Media essay, “Sexism Manifest in The Arena”, dealt with the issue of how prevalent sexism is in our society even in popular public figures like Hilary Clinton. In my RBAA essay I talked about how America needs to correctly respond to the intimidating terrorist group, ISIS....
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...Therefore, I went back and revised my essay for a 2nd time. I made new changes, especially to the introduction. I added a more effective thesis, and went ahead and cleaned up my essay a bit. After a peer review session, I learn new ways to improve my essay. I then went over my essay for a 3rd time. I made changes to my body, I added evidence and summaries, I was also more clear in my analysis. I then shared my essay with the professor, and after feedback from her, I revised my essay for a 4th time. I made changes that needed to be made, such as adding missing evidence, getting rid of a paragraph, and dividing a paragraph into different parts. I made sure my essay was understandable and after deciding that it was, I went ahead and cited all my evidence. I was confident with my final draft, but before completely submitting it, I went ahead and revised it for a 5th time. I wanted to make sure I was completely satisfied before turning it in and I wanted to make sure I had nothing else to edit. Overall, my process for project #2 included me brainstorming in depth the topic in order to figure out exactly what I would write. I then proceeded to write a rough draft that was not perfect, but was enough for me to work with. I edit this rough draft many times, in order to improve it. I took into consideration all the different advice I received, and I tried to edit my essay in regards to it. I continued revising my draft until I was content with...
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...Introduction The media is the link between the public and politics. However, while media sources are viewed as purveyors of the day's news, they maintain considerable influence on politics. It is important to differentiate the concept of media influence from the concept of media bias. While some media sources will have an undoubted bias in the way they are reporting the news and the issues they select and prioritise, this does not necessarily equate with influence. Influence can be far less obvious or overt than bias, and can lead to changes in opinion in an indirect manner. While United States news outlets such as Fox News or the New York Post may have a more direct political bias, other outlets such as CNN or the New York Times – while appearing less openly biased – will also wield considerable influence. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, while The Daily Mail has an agenda which must be obvious to many who read it, less openly biased newspapers such as The Guardian will still have the potential to influence politics and politicians. In fact, media sources with a less overt bias will have potentially more influence than others, as they could be considered to be more reliable or trustworthy than biased tabloid entertainment news. This paper will assess the issue of media influence on politics, and evaluate the methods and forms this influence can take. Discussion Media Influence The role of the media in influencing politics has been long recognised. Comparative analysis of media sources...
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...Evaluation Essay on Gender in Advertising Gender differences and biases have been a part of the normal lives of humans ever since anyone can remember. Anthropological evidence has revealed that even the humans and the hominids of ancient times had separate roles for men and women in their societies, and this relates to the concepts of epistemology. There were certain things that women were forbidden to do and similarly men could not partake in some of the activities that were traditionally reserved for women. This has given birth to the gender role stereotypes that we find today. These differences have been passed on to our current times; although many differences occur now that have caused a lot of debate amongst the people as to their appropriateness and have made it possible for us to have a stereotyping threat by which we sometimes assign certain qualities to certain people without thinking. For example, many men are blamed for undermining women and stereotyping them for traditional roles, and this could be said to be the same for men; men are also stereotyped in many of their roles. This leads to social constructionism since the reality is not always depicted by what we see by our eyes. These ideas have also carried on in the world of advertising and the differences shown between the males and the females are apparent in many advertisements we see today. This can have some serious impacts on the society as people begin to stereotype the gender roles in reality. There has...
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...achieve this greater thinking level, I am trying to use time more productively in order to reach this goal. This will only occur is a concentrated effort is made. In addition, an effort is being made to consider the universal intellectual standards on an ongoing basis. This will reveal flaws in my thinking and help to focus on the purposes I am trying to achieve (Paul & Elder, 2012). As with most areas of life, change will not occur if a concentrated effort is not made to embrace the change. Fairminded Thinking While developing the attributes of an accomplished thinker, it is important to simultaneously develop the traits of a fairminded thinker as well. It is possible to expand as a thinker yet not advance OPTION #1 SELF-ASSESSMENT ESSAY 3 as a fairminded thinker (Paul & Elder, 2012). It is vital for individuals to employ fairmindedness if they hope to comprehend their strengths as well as the weaknesses of areas they evaluate. Consequently, if I hope to achieve fairmindedness, my egocentrism of my thoughts and my life will need to be monitored if I hope to see beyond myself and how what I do impacts others. To move beyond the egocentric reaction, I will need to face my undesirable reaction and understand why that feeling exists while working towards changing the thought patterns that are encouraging this thinking. When an individual chooses to just accept and believe what they were taught by parents as well as society, those thoughts can strengthen egocentrism...
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