is it possible to have a truly bias free media?.....and how can you have a free society if...?

Question

either political ideology or religious belief is allowed to dictate what gets to appear in the news sections of newspapers, radio and tv stations?

isnt every outlet of the media governed by people of a certain class with a certain education and a vested interest in propagating their views on what is acceptable and what is not?

wouldnt this bias be inevitable whatever group was in charge?

isnt the only way round this conditioning to read a different newspaper and listen to a different radio/tv channel every day when it comes to getting your news?

and is the internet any better conduit than any of the above....

or should you simply not watch/read the news at all!

Answer 1

the mass media are a form of cultural reproduction - they reproduce the cultural norms and values of the dominant groups within society.
In this way they are able to set the "norm" even when our reality tells us that this is not the norm. Look at beauty for example. The faces and body shapes we see portrayed in the media only account for a small minority of people within society, and yet their over representation in the media fools us into thinking that this is the norm.
For a healthy society, I believe that different elements of society should have accesss to the means of cultural reproduction (ie the media) this is why I watch Al-Jareza and other sources of news, it my attempt to get a wider view of current events.
At the end of the day, it is important that the viewer critically reflects on the messages received from the media and realises that the ultimate aim of the media is the support of capitalism.

Answer 2

Bias is inevitable no matter how carefully news is filtered, as the presentation of facts will almost always be partial to some extent, if only because outlets have to be selective in the news they present.

Ideology or belief does not have to be the main factor when choosing the form of presentation but no media outlet could possibly present every point of view on every topic, so there will inevitably be 'bias' as outlets select what they think will most interest a wide readership. Exposing yourself to a wide variety of outlets can counteract this but time is a limiting factor.

Answer 3

think about it, the news is always written by someone. Even if they try to be unbiased their subconsious opinions will come out in the article, not to mention the way the editor says it is to be written. On a bigger scale, every paper etc. has a political stance and the journalists that work for them must follow this. I don't think it's possible to have a bias free media because we are human at the end of the day. Unless the machines took over.........

Answer 4

i could like to point out a worry-unfastened fallacy approximately opposition. that's no longer approximately BEING YOUR appropriate. Being your appropriate is excellence, high quality and private delight, there does not even seem a attractiveness for it in the present day. opposition is approximately BEING extra powerful THAN people. Take, working example, whilst an inventor comes up with a clean element that has never been considered or performed before. Who did they compete with? the competition starts off after various others commence attempting to develop on it. Capitalism seems to be geared in direction of opposition. yet there are examples of incredibly greater capitalist democracies that have carried out what you seek for. Norway is an exceptional occasion of a Socialist Democracy. it relatively is why the conservative lobbyists are consistently putting down "ecu kind socialism". wealthy firms earnings from opposition. no longer ordinary working tax payers be afflicted by it.

Answer 5

depends what you believe to be "truly bias free". To the extent that any rational human being has a subjective view on everything, media is never bias free. And that has little to do with the need for profit - simply that overarching objectivity and knowledge of all facts is impossible.

Answer 6

It's into the realms of big brother. They decide what we read and how we percieve the information that we take in. I try not to read/watch the news too much but I must admit that with having Yahoo as my home-page I do get drawn into it. I think it is impossible for the media to be un-biased.

Answer 7

Of course not, everyone is biased. You are biased against newspapers.

Newspapers are not there to inform the public, they are not there to tell the truth (God forbid they should even consider that) They are there to sell papers and make a profit. Truth does not sell, embelised truth does, half truths and outright lies sell better.

By the way, don't you think six questions in one is taking the p*ss.

Answer 8

The short answer is,read between the lines.There will never be any such thing as a free and uncensored media as long as the reason d'etre of said media is to make a profit

Answer 9

The big difference is the ability to respond with comments as they appear on the web, whereas when we read from the newspaper we are stuck holding all those pent up reactions.

Answer 10

i think you are right, the problem is no matter who unbiased a person claims to be you will always get the editors view of a situation.

i find the best (though not perfect) solution is to watch the rolling news channels where you tend to get breaking news which has not been edited down.