...of the masses.”(Malcolm X) In history, media bias has existed since the nineteenth century , most newspapers were actually linked with their particular political party and the economic interests of their publisher. It is a relatively recent development that reporters should be absolutely, unwaveringly objective in stories involving some possibility of bias. In this analysis, news/media outlets, are taken to mean any news organization, TV news networks, magazines, newspaper, etc. and media bias is the term for these aforementioned news outlets to misrepresent an argument, show...
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...How Ethical is the Media? In today’s day in age media has become such an important part of many people’s lives, this is because of how quickly one can become up to date on the issues of the day. The media is not only used to inform individuals of devastating or serious events; the media has become a source for anything that interests the nation’s and/or world’s population. The news can be anything from entertainment to sports or politics to environmentalism, there is really no subject that cannot be discussed now and days. A big issue with today’s media world is an ethical one, many of us ask ourselves, “Does the media go a little too far at times?” Now and days it seems like no subject is too risqué to touch up on, but should there be a line which should not be crossed? Are there some ethical perspectives that are being set aside? How far will the media go in order to keep people informed? The media keeps us informed of everything that is going on in the world around us which aids the public into being prepared when any serious event takes or will take place. Media is an extremely competitive field because all the networks want to be the first to present the news to the public. The main responsibilities the media has are to be the representative of society in order to best inform the people, to help the different fragments of society come together by providing them with a source of communication no matter the rift that differentiates them from each other, and...
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...In today’s society, individuals are constantly surrounded by the media, regardless of what it is in relation to. Despite the fact that there are a variety of various media sources, it is commonly agreed upon that the media is biased; however, the opinion of how it is biased is often based on the leanings and beliefs of individuals rather than everyone as a whole. The most common bias discussed seems to be that of ideological bias, more specifically whether the media is more conservative or liberal in its coverage. While there are undoubtedly sources, such as Fox News, that tend to be conservatively biased, it seems that the vast majority of the media today is liberally biased. The media is ideologically biased in favor of liberal coverage in...
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...Media hold a privileged place in American society. They are central to the operation of our democracy and have great influence over the way we live our lives. The news that is chosen and the way it is depicted control how we perceive and learn about each other, both within our country and among the rest of the world. Unfortunately, it is impossible to deny that bias exists in the media and drastically alters public perception of current events. However, the presence of bias both in media and among the public is often unintentional. While bias may always exist to some extent, these biases are not detrimental to the well-being of our society if a free “Marketplace of Ideas” is supported and encouraged. Though my roommate is correct in saying that journalists may exhibit bias in their writing, bias often exists unintentionally, even when means are taken to prevent it. Media scholars have deemed this the “Theory of Unintended News Distortion”. As Herbert Gans describes in Deciding What’s News, “As long as their intent is to exclude conscious personal values, then opinions become ‘subjective reactions’ which follow from objectively...
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...In today’s society having a political opinion is really easy, but are they the right one? There is an issue in this world concerning the information that is shared through the media. This past election was at the forefront of backlash and false media. The media is being plagued by fake and biased news. There Having an underlying bias is not breaking news; however, this caused a division in this society due to the information being processed by the major media outlets. “Experts” are out there reporting on the current events, but how many of them are true experts? Are they looking for the truth, or information that will support their prejudice, information stirs emotions in the reader to support their cause? Fake and biased media is deceiving...
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...Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a criticism of how society in the future could be. Although the novel was first published in 1951, many of the ideas Bradbury proposes are beginning to become true within today’s society. Bradbury touches upon issues such as censorship, technology, and what society holds as valuable. These issues all appear in today’s society because of the media. One of the biggest themes in Fahrenheit 451 is censorship. This theme is shown throughout the book by the firemen. In this book, the firemen stand as leaders and public figures within the society. The firemen are constantly trying to burn all material items that help the masses gain knowledge. Beatty states, “If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war” (Bradbury 58). This quote shows how keen the firemen are on censoring the public from any ideas or beliefs that may challenge the status quo. The firemen are concerned that if the public is exposed to the ideas proposed in these books, and hear the other side of the story, that they will stray from the common belief system that was established for the society. Fortunately, in today’s America, censorship...
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...Controversial issues in the media Controversies are a part of the American if not global landscapes. The thought makes one wonder if our value and belief systems are shaped by mass media. That may be close to the truth. With computers, laptops, cell phones, I-pads we are connected to the media in some form and want our news as fast as possible. The more horrific the story, the more interest is generated in knowing the outcome. Nature of the controversy In 2009, a young dating couple had a physical fight that made national news. The couple in question- music superstars Chris Brown and Rihanna. Every paper covered the assault and had pictures of the bloodied Rihanna with blackened eye, split lip, and bite marks. The scandal percolated to an all-time high and Chris Brown was charged with assault. Later the public would discover the charges were for sexual assault. Many celebrities have misunderstandings and some have been victims. Controversy sells and we want to know what happened- the media is willing to oblige. Traditional journalism The traditional factors of newsworthiness include proximity, future impact, prominence, conflict, human interest, and timeliness. According to John Vivian “ not only do people in their contemporary lifestyles need mass media, but the industries that have built up around media need an audience” (Vivian, 2011, p. 6). News for the public has the following ideology, “news is based on some inherent bias: the media role as watchdog, and a lack...
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...The media is a unique institution in American society. They are mostly for-profit businesses, but they serve a public purpose- informing the American people about newsworthy events (Lenz and Homan 142). They are the only private business to be protected by the 1st Amendment (143). The media- specifically the journalists that comprise it- are expected to be unbiased and neutral in their news reporting (Clark). This is to create an informed public; the bedrock of a functioning democratic society, as stated by James Madison and other Founding Fathers, is a people that have knowledge and the ability to acquire it (Chemerinsky). Unfortunately, the American people have a decreasing faith in the objectivity of the media: according to a recent Gallup...
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...How is the media, biased, more towards progressive-liberal values, conservative values or in both directions depending on the specific media outlets you may access? I believe before we can go directly into how the media biased, we must first know what it means. Media bias is a political bias in journalistic reporting, in programming selection, or in mass communications media. In today’s society, it has become normal to witness or read about an elected government official being ridiculed by our mainstream media outlets. You can rarely turn on the news, check your phone, or get on Facebook and Twitter without some sort of recent false and often miss represented news article or headline. We have all become accustomed to letting the media dictate...
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...Sports Medias Negative Approach Ernest Culler COM 150 10 November 2012 Janice Prince Betian Sports Medias Negative Approach In the late 1980s and early 1990s many professional athletes were viewed as positive role models. During this time sports media found it hard to report about the negative accounts of the professional athlete. It was not until the early 1990s when Mike Tyson became the first prominent athlete to gain negative reports aired on national television. Before the 1990s Mike was known as the greatest boxer in the world after he was convicted of rape he was known as a criminal. While Sports media believes they report about the positive athletes as much if not more than they do the negative athletes, the bias approach taken towards role models is unequal. Sports media has chosen to take a radical approach in reporting about the favorite role models of children in today’s society. Over the past three years sports reporters have driven Lance Armstrong from atop the cycling world, they have taken an approach that has tarnished both his career and personal life. Michael Pearson reports that Lance Armstrong has stepped down as Chair of the Live Strong Cancer charity. In a CNN report Pearson (2012) writes that “Nike, which initially stood by Armstrong, dropped him October 17, 2012 with a terse statement citing what it called seemingly insurmountable evidence that he participated in doping.” Pearson has chosen only to give partial information...
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...Media Bias assignment Week 3 HUM/111 06/10/2012 GORSHA GALBRAITH Making critical evaluation is essential to understanding the underlying facts from media. The Travyon Martin & George Zimmerman case was well known issue in today’s society. Many news stations displayed Travyon depicted as an innocent boy and Zimmerman as a ruthless individual. The media facts were concerned with the entertainment and not the facts; it seemed like each news station was investigating the truth of story, but promoting Zimmerman as a prejudice blood thirsty killer. The Media used bias to depict each individual Travyon and Zimmerman, depending on the news station the media can make anyone seem like the villain in child’s story, the question to ask one’s self is this fair? There have been so many inaccurate information in the new media who can keep track of the assumption and misleading information; some of the information cannot place the role of Zimmerman in the event of the shooting. I believing reading between the lines in any media story or reading a book is essential, if the person and media don’t gather enough Intel it the new article or information is invalid cannot live up as facts, but most individuals don’t read between the media words of facts, not everything is the truth, the truth is whatever sound reasonable in the sake of inaccuracies errors, or bias statement in the media. Long story short, the media will entertain, post valid Intel from time to time, but not all the Intel from...
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...Lying by omission occurs when the media is hushed and keeps news from the public, and this act happens in the daily lives of Americans. In the modern day, after the law has been enforced on a person, the case is brought to the American Court System. In this system, there are prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and a jury of the peers that work to serve a correct verdict. However, a fair trial does not often happen, especially in the police shooting trials. Therefore, the race of the police officer and the race of the victim creates different punishments during trials. To start off, it might seem that African Americans feel that they are treated inferior to Whites, so they might say that they are often singled out in criminal circumstances and trails even. Some might claim that America has not yet...
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...In today’s society, the majority of the public receives its news from networks putting forth mass media broadcasts. Many of these news stories attempt to summarize published research studies; however, people need to understand that all of the information they receive from news networks are not always accurate and truthful. The article “Study says person's trustworthiness determined by how close photo is taken,” published by Fox News on October 25th, 2012, is an example of how a news network can present a story that is bias, and lacks information. The study, “Perspective Distortion from Interpersonal Distance Is an Implicit Visual Cue for Social Judgments of Faces,” conducted by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), tested whether or not a person’s trustworthiness is affected by how close their photo was taken. The study consisted of four experiments testing multiple audiences on various photos of white males. Each experiment had two pictures for the test participants to analyze; one picture was a man’s face from two feet away, the other being seven feet away. The subjects then rated the man’s trustworthiness by using the “trust meter” they received. For example, the mean trust investment difference in experiment one was 3.2 > 2.45 (far face - close face). The other three experiments had similar results, supporting the claim that the closer someone’s picture was taken, the less trustworthy that person will look in that individual picture (Bryan, Perona, & Adolphs...
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...I enjoyed this weekly reading by Du Bois. It spoke to me, and I think that it is extremely relatable in today’s society. The idea of this veil separating black people from white people in our nation is clearly visible today. On a quick side note, I am really amazed at the progression of the materials in this course! I feel that the subject area of each week’s individual can be related to the previous week, but also brings forth a new topic. That being said, my feelings toward Du Bois’ work and the idea of the veil that separates humanity is a recurring theme in my meditations. Today’s world is a place where people of different races and ethnicities are treated different from one another, solely based upon these genetic differences. The media spotlight has been on the discrimination and racism that black people face, and has resulted in a movement promoting the equal treatment and prosperity of black individuals. From police wearing body cameras on the job to ensure ethical and fair treatment of individuals, to black people being kicked out of certain political rallies, today’s world is still in a place where racism exists. I feel that there are just more reasons and excuses for it to exist in society today, and that’s why it is still going on. Du Bois says that black individuals live two separate lives: one in the black world, and one in the white world. I do agree with this statement, but I do think that it is applicable in the reverse sense as well. Individuals always...
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...understand the viewpoints of others when pertaining to the topic of race and gender in the media, you have to understand the political standpoint of the initial stereotype from the whole human being society. Understanding that the intelligent intellect is still being generated today a three fifths of a man and the minority as a whole is more than that. That the message between the African American community, and the Caucasian community conduct to be set apart as differentials; it’s about putting race in its place. And, lo and behold we still have to utilize the power and take initiative to continue to be the new face by rebuilding this world. The global issue is uneducated individuals who have do not know that we are more to the people....
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