MEDIA BIAS &

OBJECTIVITY

By:

Shareef & Monica

Objectivity

It is, expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations.

Journalistic objectivity has two components. The first is 'depersonalization' which means that

journalists should not overtly express their own views, evaluations, or beliefs.

The second is 'balance' which involves presenting the views of representatives of both sides of a controversy without favouring one side.

There are some conventions in order to attain the objectivity:

authoritative sources, such as politicians must be quoted

'fact' must be separated from 'opinion‘and 'hard news' from 'editorial comment' and the presentation of information must

be structured pyramidically The ideal of objectivity gives journalists

legitimacy as independent and credible sources of information.

It also ensures a certain degree of autonomy to journalists and freedom from regulation to media corporations. 

However, news reporting involves  judgements about what is a good story, who will be interviewed for it, what questions will be asked,

which parts of those interviews will be printed or broadcast,

what facts are relevant and how the story is written.

According to David Brook, a famous American journalist there are five steps to achieve objectivity

1. The first stage is what somebody called negative capacity — the ability to suspend

2. The second stage is modesty.3. The third stage of objectivity is the ability

to process data

4. The fourth stage of objectivity is the ability to betray friends.

5. The fifth stage of objectivity is the ability to ignore stereotypes.

What does objectivity mean to a reporter?

To be an objective reporter is to report an event or series of events in a way that does not reflect the reporter’s attitudes about the events and people involved.

How much objectivity is possible? Of three people watching the same event, one

might see a demonstration, one might see a protest, and one might see a riot- and each will report the incident differently.

Because psychologists have taught us that we

enter every situation with a “set”- that is, a number of beliefs, expectations, and attitudes that determine what we notice and how we interpret what we observe.

Does lack of objectivity lead to loss of confidence among the public?

Complaint about the lack of objectivity in

media are frequent, both in print and visual media. It results in the loss of confidence on the part of the news-consuming public in what is reported to them.

The Objectivity is myth in Journalism?

On closer examination, objectivity is easier to

define than it is to attain in practice Because the world is a subjective construct

unique to each person . For example

several witnesses see a traffic accident no one could survive. Nonetheless, nobody is hurt.

All the witnesses see, objectively, the same event. Yet, what they "see" differs according to how they filter the information: a devoutly religious person will see the hand of God in sparing the victims; a politician may see a necessity for government action to make that intersection safer; an attorney may see a potential lawsuit; a sexist may blame a driver of the opposite sex.

For the people to describe the world they have created on the basis of what they have perceived.

Even words are notoriously slippery things: no word means the same thing to everybody or even anybody.

for example

The lead in a news story might be, "There was a demonstration in downtown Mumbai today." What does "demonstration" mean: a protest march, a sales show, an example during a lecture? Where exactly is "downtown Mumbai"? When is "today"?

Objectivity is very hard to attain in the present scenario where every media are inclined towards certain policies.

What is Media Bias?

Media bias is a term used to describe a real or perceived bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media, in the selection of which events will be reported and how they are covered.

The direction and degree of media bias in various countries is widely disputed.

History of Bias in Media

Political bias has been a feature of the mass media since its birth with the invention of the printing press. The expense of early printing equipment restricted media production to a limited number of people. Historians have found that publishers often served the interests of powerful social groups.

In the nineteenth century, journalists began to recognize the concept of unbiased reporting as an integral part of journalistic ethics.

Role of Language in Media Bias

Mass media, despite its ability to project worldwide, is limited in its cross-ethnic compatibility by one simple attribute -- language. Language, in the absence of translation, comprises a barrier to a worldwide community of debate and opinion.

The choice of language of mass media may represent a bias towards the group most likely to speak that language, and can limit the public participation by those who do not speak the language.

Types of Bias

Bias by omission : Bias by leaving one side out of an issue, or a series of articles over a period of time; ignoring facts that tend to disapprove their claims and beliefs.

Bias by selection of sources - Including more sources that support one view over another.  This bias can also be seen when a reporter uses such phrases as "experts believe", "observers say," or "most people believe". 

The stories which include experts, make sure that an equal number of experts from both sides of the issue are quoted.  If a story quotes non-experts, check that an equal number come from both sides of the issue in question.

Bias by story selection - Highlighting news stories that coincide with the agenda of one political party while ignoring stories that coincide with the agenda of the other.

Bias by placement - Story placement is a measure of how important the editor considers the story and where does he place it.

To locate examples of bias by placement, observe where a newspaper places political stories.

Bias by spin - Bias by spin occurs when the story has only one interpretation of an event or policy, to the exclusion of the other; spin involves tone - it's a reporter's subjective comments about objective facts; makes one side's ideological perspective look better than another. 

Examples of Media Bias

Ethnic or racial bias which including racism, nationalism.

Corporate bias, the reporting of issues to favor the interests of the owners of the news media and the corporate. (Eg. IPL coverage,Rupert Murdoch case)

Class bias, Including bias favoring one social class and

ignoring the other. (Eg. Aarushi murder case, Scarlett murder case)

Political bias, including bias in favor of or against a particular political party, candidate, or policy. (Eg. Sakshi supports Congress & Eenadu supports TDP, Jaya TV etc.)

Religious bias, including bias in which one religious or non religious viewpoint is given preference over others. (Matha Prasanna case)

Sensationalism, which is bias in favor of the exceptional over the ordinary. This includes the practice whereby exceptional news may be overemphasized, distorted or fabricated to boost commercial ratings. (Eg: Rakhi Sawant and Mika case, Abhishek Aishwarya wedding)

Ideological bias : based on personal philosophy which may include liberalism, conservativism, progressivism, communism, etc.

Peer culture bias : Bias based on popular opinions of one's peer group which may include environmentalism, anti-globalization, etc.

Bias based on sex, age, background, education, language, among others.

Bias toward ease or expediency: This can be a tendency to present information which is already widely reported in other news media. This type of bias is largely attributed to the relatively low cost of presenting these stories compared to investigative journalism.(Eg. Michelle Obama pregnancy, US elections news)

How to Detect Bias in News Media?

1. Who are the sources? Be aware of the political perspective of the sources used in a

story. Media over-rely on “official”(government, corporate etc.) sources.

Count the number of corporate and government sources versus the number of minority voices. Demand mass media to expand their spectrum.

2. Is there a lack of diversity? What is the race and gender diversity at the news outlet compared

to the communities it serves? In order to fairly represent different communities, news outlets should have members of those communities in decision-making positions.

Demand that the media you consume reflect the diversity of the public they serve.

3. From whose point of view is the news reported? Political coverage often focuses on how issues affect

politicians or corporate executives rather than those directly affected by the issue.

Demand that those affected by the issue have a voice in coverage.

4. Are there double standards? Do media hold some people to one standard while using a

different standard for other groups? Expose the double standard by coming up with a parallel

example or citing similar stories that were covered differently.

5. Are stories on important issues featured prominently? Look at where stories appear. Newspaper articles on the

most widely read pages and lead stories on television and radio will have the greatest influence on public opinion.

When you see a story on government officials engaged in activities that violate the law on the back pages, call the newspaper and object. Let the paper know how important you feel an issue is and demand that important stories get prominent coverage.

For the Consumers…

The real purpose is to identify some of the systemic causes for what appears to be a bias in the news media. Most journalists sincerely believe they are doing the right thing -- and they probably are. But some of the macro-scale factors at work around them make it impossible for their work to seem neutral or fair or balanced, no matter how hard they might try. The better we understand those larger factors, the better we're able to change our expectations as consumers and address those larger factors in a way that could make reporting better for everyone.

Points to Ponder…

Government and advertisers are the greatest sources of revenue for the media. So is the media justified to be biased towards them?

The demand for sensational news is more, so should media cater to their consumers demands and be biased towards sensational issues over the important ones?

Are the journalists justified to be biased towards the side they feel is more truthful?

What could be done to check bias in the media?

Mass media not only report the news—they also literally make the news. Do you agree with this statement ?

Does lack of objectivity lead to loss of confidence among the public?

How much objectivity is possible?

THANK YOU