Pew Research Center Argument Analysis

A liberal is a person that believes that the government should provide equality for all, while a conservative is a person that believes in limited government and that the government should provide the necessary freedom for people to pursue their own goals. Over time, it has been argued, mostly by conservatives, that there is a liberal bias in the media. Liberals have combated this idea with the belief that conservative media is devoted to making efforts to invoke fear and division in the general public. Though liberals make a fine counter-argument, it is easier to observe that the media is liberal-biased. The liberal versus conservative debate can be compared to facts versus values. Another reason for bias within the media is that a significant percentage of minorities, or smaller groups within the population that are often thought to be poorer, politically identify themselves as liberals. To make these minorities feel like the government is on their side as well as everyone else’s, the media must accommodate the needs of these minorities. Because of this, the media becomes liberal-biased.

Journalists play an important part in the democratic process. Traditionally, the roles of the news media are to provide a forum for debate, represent opposing perspectives on the day’s issues and hold public officials accountable while serving their constituents. However, in recent decades, media has given way to biased forms of news— partisan media. In Matthew Levendusky’s “How Partisan Media Polarize America,” he explores if these partisan media influences viewers. The book’s second chapter, “What Do Partisan Media Actually Say?” concludes that partisan media promotes a larger agenda separately to Democrats and Republicans, attack the opposing side while denouncing compromise, and usually side with their candidate of choice during

Cunningham cites a few specific examples of how objectivity has hampered journalism today. Only 12 out of 574 major network evening news reports confronted the issue of the Iraqi War aftermath. This obviously illustrates the hesitation the media has in questioning and speculating major political decisions. Generally, the press does not feel any obligation to call out politicians and elected officials about their decisions. Instead, some facts are reported, and no one is

Often times people utilize certain sources and watch certain news channels because these viewers can relate to the views on these sources. It can make one believe that his/her perspective is correct simply because that is what the new source is providing. Viewers watch news sources that share the same opinions as their own, because these viewers are just as bias as the sources; these viewers favor one side, as do the news sources. John Stossel, a Fox News reporter discusses the book “Bias” with author Bernie Goldberg, an ex CBS News reporter. John expected for ABC to read the book and disagree with Bernie on the ABC news channel (Goldberg and Stossel). However, these people were proud of not reading the book and gave it no attention. Even if one does not agree with a certain viewpoint, it is very important to hear the different perspectives because it allows the viewer to see and hear other people’s opinion. Because most news sources do not include all sides, it becomes difficult for an individual to

Bias is defined as a preference to or against something or someone. Brooke Gladstone is a media analyst and a managing editor of NPRs program, which covers journalism and other social issues. Gladstone's book"The Great Refusal" uses a comic format in attempt to answer the question "can reporters be objective?" She examines different types of bias in media and explains the reason behind them.

In the article, “The End of Objectivity?”. Justin Raimondo, an American author and the editorial director of a popular antiwar website, describes his dislike for his local newspaper because of the bias toward conservative views. (Raimondo) The creator of the newspaper in this case could be more open minded by including more liberal views in the newspaper in order to gather a more diverse audience. However, the author could take the information he gathered from the newspaper and use it as knowledge to strengthen his political

In the mid-twentieth century, the news media were one of America’s most trusted institutions. The 1956 American National Election Study (ANES) found that 66% of Americans thought newspapers were fair, while only 27% said they were unfair. These views were bipartisan, with 78% of Republicans and 64% of Democrats viewing newspapers as fair. When the Roper Organization asked a similar question about network news in two 1964 polls, 71% and 61% of the public thought it was fair, while just 12% and 17% thought it was unfair. In 1973, when the General Social Survey (GSS) began regularly measuring con dence in various national institu- tions, only 15% of respondents had “hardly any” con dence in the press.

The interviewees themselves admit to noticing mainstream media bias. While there is no clear indication if the media is biased leaning towards the right or left on the political spectrum, each news outlet provides its own form of bias that it wishes to portray. The news holds power to frame presidential candidates and perceive them how they want viewers to, especially in today’s constantly growing popularity as America slowly decides who wants to be their next president. One my of biggest findings of these interviews were Spencer’s accusations that mainstream media is very biased and that he doesn’t approve of them. This supports the argument that the American media is biased in one way or another and that not all committed conservatives or liberals put their trust into popular news outlets. The gentlemen I interviewed strive for more neutrality in the media. America needs to improve its market-dominated news outlets so that citizens may be able to educate themselves further and better familiarize themselves for what news and journalism truly should

“Before proceeding, it is useful to clarify our definition of bias. Most important, the definition has nothing to do with the honesty or accuracy of the news outlet. Instead, our notion is more like a taste or preference” (Groseclose & Milyo, 2005).

The authors Barbara K. Kaye and Thomas J. Johnson discuss media effect on individuals as they receive news. Their main claim is that the media has an incredible influence on how the public gets their information. Two of their subclaims are useful in the discussion of my research paper. One subclaim states that “liberals increasingly use sources that they perceive as progressive, while conservatives rely on those they think support the right side of the aisle, and both groups avoid media they think represents the opposite side.”. Another subclaim talks about how there are four types of media bias: gatekeeper bias, coverage bias, statement bias, and perceptual bias. These work together to highlight the influence media has on the public. It also mentions the ways in which people receive their media and the natural trends

A great deal of interest of the countless allegations of bias has been a heated topic today in the dominant media. A variety of watchdog groups have generated over the years to attempt to find the facts behind bias facts, accuracy, fairness and balance. It is extremely important in journalism to always be accurate, fair, and have a consistent balance. If an editor falls into the biases and does not not follow the previous three essential qualities stated, one may get himself or herself into serious legal trouble and/or possibly let go from his or her job.

Attarian, John. “Who’s Guarding the Guards?: While failing to persuade that the media have a conservative bias, a columnist nevertheless identifies real problems.” World and I June 2003: 212. Academic OneFile. Web 18 Sept. 2016.

Today's media has displayed countless ways they show media bias. Many channels have depicted a different side to one story and base information on a political party in which the channel supports. Each news source has one goal, and that is to state what will make the chosen party to have a good platform for the public to see. In the series of events that have occurred recently one can see how different news sources have pushed for what each channel believes is the main point needed to be crossed and have shared beliefs in either a liberal or conservative way.

Media has been playing a significant role in our daily lives by developing our personalities, enriching our knowledge and providing us with different sorts of information. It has a tremendous power in framing cultural guidelines and shaping political dissertation. If the information provided to the U.S. citizens is distorted, then they cannot make informed decisions on the matters of public policy. Thus, it becomes vital to the American democracy that the news media and its institutions remain unbiased, fair and accurate. Media bias happens when a media systematically and persistently emphasize one particular point of view that is usually below the standards of professional journalism. There can be various reasons for media bias, some of

The public relies on the media as a source for accurate information on current events and political happenings. However, if the information they are gaining from news networks and internet sources is false, then there is no point to the information being reported at all, and in fact is only decreasing people’s knowledge of the truth. The media is important to people’s livelihoods and helps our country to function successfully, for this reason they should only publish bias-free press. Political bias that is being portrayed as an accident and how reporters are abusing their voice, should be issues that are not taken