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How Is Media Inherently Bias

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Media is not inherently bias, however different viewpoints, goals and opinions cause media sources to be biased. Even though the press is supposed to be impartial and provide truthful information to the people, emotions, and opinions cause journalists to manipulate the content the press produces. This leads to a multitude of alternate biases. For example, some media sources are biased in the favor of Republicans and others in the favor of Democrats. Many are also independent and have a set of views and beliefs all their own. Media biases also vary in intensity. Some sources may attempt to seem neutral, but possess an underlying bias to a certain side. Others, on the other hand, may thrive on criticizing and denouncing an opposing side.
Technically, …show more content…

According to the Hutchins Report, “The press must be free from the menace of external compulsions from whatever source.” This states that the press is never truly free until it produces pure unadulterated impartial content. It continues with the words, “The press must, if it is to be wholly free, know and overcome any biases incident to its own economic position its concentration, and its pyramidal organization.” This is expressing that the press must deny the temptations of economic gain, executive input and remain impartial if it is to be considered entirely free.
However, many news organizations of today favor a certain side of the political spectrum. A prime example of this favor would be the press’s interpretations of an incoming presidential election or partisan bias. Tim Groeling, a political scientist, performed a study on multiple news organization’s gatekeeping and agenda-setting tactics. Gatekeeping is a device that many organizations use to select what they publicize, therefore setting an agenda …show more content…

It was created to be free of external influence and free to cover all stories possible. Even though some news is impartial, people have different biases and many media organizations attempt to appeal to that bias through gatekeeping and agenda-setting. This allows people to congregate with others with the same views and create an atmosphere that ignores people who do not have the same biases. Consequently, people become polarized and oblivious to the people on the opposite side of the ideological spectrum. However, simply diversifying the sources of one’s media intake may break through the atmosphere of polarization. If one understands the opposing side’s point of view, then he or she will discover other types of bias and the reasons behind that bias. In other words, if a person were to watch solely Democratic sources of media, then he or she will never comprehend the Republican point of view. However, if the person chooses to watch a variety of news sources, then he or she will learn to appreciate both sides of the political spectrum. The observer will then understand that the media is geared towards a specific audience and all have different biases and bias

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