Media Bias
Media bias research papers illustrate that many media companies and outlets are biased, leaning to the political left or right, depending upon who funds them. Paper Masters will custom write and investigate the topic of media bias for your political science, communications, sociology or international politics course.
Media bias refers to the real or perceived bias of journalists and news media outlets in terms of the stories selected for coverage and the ways in which those stories are reported. The extent of media bias in any country is highly debated, as journalists frequently claim objectivity.
Media Bias Examples
One clear example of media bias is the Fox News Network, which makes little pretense over its support of the right wing of the American political system. This is, however, different that some forms of government influence over the media, as occurs in totalitarian states such as North Korea. However, political bias in political reporting is as old as the printing press itself. Early publishers, due to the high cost of printing, were at the service of the more powerful and wealthy factions. In the early years of the United States, newspapers frequently supported either the Federalist or Republican (Jefferson) party, attacking the other. The Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 was an attempt to prohibit newspapers from publishing opposition to the Adams Administration.
One modern accusation of media bias in the United States concerns the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Various news outlets are often accused of showing either pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian bias depending on the types of stories presented from the conflict, and the overall tone of coverage towards one side or the other.
Media Bias and Reporting the News
Clearly some "news organizations" have a distinct bias. FOX News is certainly rightward leaning and, if we regard Saturday Night Live as a "news source," which, apparently, the article notes, some people do, then that "source" is certainly to be regarded as leftward leaning. Most "neutral" news outlets are anything but:
- The network news programs
- Most local news programs
- Internet articles that are the products of such organizations
One should be very cautious about applying the results of this research to product marketing, political marketing campaigns and product marketing campaigns being very different things. We detect little bias in the media for or against most products though those with political implications (SUVs, for example, have political implications because they are the bete noir of those who have politics-influenced beliefs on energy policy) may be affected by politics-biased news coverage. But most products are ideologically neutral. This being so, there is usually no felt need by news organizations to address them in terms of there being "an issue" involving controversy. Passions are not inflamed with respect to products and media political bias has little to do with products. Again, there are exceptions. A utility advertising the fact that it has an environmentally friendly wind farm among its generating facilities is likely to place an ad on PBS, doing so in the hopes that the demographics of the PBS audience, and its presumed leftward tilt, will ensure that this fact will be viewed with particular favor by that audience. But, a few special cases aside, product marketing is not greatly affected by media bias.