Media bias is an unavoidable aspect of any information spreading source or program. Much like the saying “history is written by the victors” (Winston Churchill), any information provided to the general public should be expected to be affected by the personal bias of the ones reporting the information. While it may be hard to spot an example of media bias, it is definitely there even if it is not meant to come on as a bias.
Whether it is the placement of articles in the local newspaper, the scandalous spin on the love lives of celebrities, or the happenings in the political circles of the world’s governments. Take the News stations on the TV as an example. When putting together a news reel the one in charge of what news stories will be told and in what order will they be told in has to decide which story has top priority, which will grab the public attention most, and in what order will the chosen stories be placed in to ensure that the general public will continue to watch their news station.
The news networks also use many behind the scene ways to alter how the news is told such as bias by omission. “Bias by omission – leaving one side out of an article, or a series of articles over a period of time” (Media Bias). This kind of bias can be found in stories that may involve politicians or waring groups. Media outlets will want to tell the public what they want to hear and not necessarily what they need to hear about the events or powerful figures around them.
Suppose Fox News had gotten their hands on a juicy story that none of the other news stations would ever be able to dig up and show the public. Upon further investigation Fox News discovers that if they report the entire story, then they would severely damage the reputation of one of their top political supporter’s right before he or she is set to run for a higher position that would increase their political power.
Fox News would be out of their minds if they were to show the story to the public as it is, however they decided to review the story again to see if there was a way to insure that their political ally would not be harmed by the story and found that if they left out some details from the interviews and some unneeded evidence then they could report the story without it being traced back with any connection to the politician.
Fox News is, in this completely fake example that should in no way be taken as a true story, using bias by omission to further their own goals and the goals of those affiliated with them. When watching the news the body language of the person reporting the news can inflict a certain amount of anticipation, whether it be positive or negative.
The visual cues act as a subtle form of media bias by spin by changing their tone of voice, the force behind certain cue words, and the subtle but noticeable shifts in shoulder tension and body posture. Body language and vocal cues have commonly been used for generations as ways to talk without speaking a discernable language. An example of this in common day to day life can be found in nature’s fight-or-flight reflex that is ingrained in the nature of most sapient beings that still roam the earth.
If from the corner of your eye you see a grown man stand at the entrance of a dark ally, dressed in ripped or dirty clothes that cover his hair, body, and lower face with a slouched posture and dark facial expression, then your brain will take this entire image into consideration and start preparing your body to produce adrenaline to defend yourself while releasing a chemical mixture into to your body to induce a feeling of anxiety and paranoia to kick start your awareness of the surrounding area and the possible threats and escape route near you.
The classical anchorman and anchorwoman will have 3 basic physical characteristics that have become a way for anyone to identify them as news anchors: the suit, hair, and smile. The male anchors will likely be wearing a neat suit with the option of wearing a tie while the female anchors will likely be wearing a dress suit or a dressy shirt and skirt normally with some form of neck wear. By wearing a suit the news anchors are dressing to impress while looking professional. The neck wear is just a way to individualize while also adding a bit of color and style to the look.
Next is the hair which is normally combed neatly on men and styled for women. The neat and classy way a news reports hair looks give the feeling that this person is well put together. Finally is the smile, a key feature in any news anchor or media reporter is to have an open smile that is welcoming without being overly bright. These three characteristics have been a part of news and media reports since the news first aired on television. In the end Bias in the Media is still truly unavoidable. There will always be some form of bias, intentional or not, when dealing with information provided by outside sources.
Prioritizing the news of what is important and by what effect who is a form of bias that affects any story. Humans are biased about nearly everything in their lives and is not limited to the media. You cannot read, learn, or hear about any kind of information without it being at least partially biased or missing key information. An easy way to clear up some bias in the media is to get your information or news on a certain subject or story from multiple sources and compared the information gather from them, in order to find common facts that appear in most of the sources in order to decide what is the most correct form of the subject or story.
