Do you think the media is unbiased and?

Question

writes stories that we the people are interested in or do you think they write stories that interest us?

I am curious to see how people feel about this.

I have a hard time believing our media is worried about shielding and protecting our image abroad. They are only interested in protecting their own views and being right on subjects. Abu Gharib, Gunatanamo, etc. They break these stories and they loudly bang the drum to keep them relevent.

E, duke boys. Not a single apology from any of the members in our media who villified these boys initially.

Imus, the story was dead for three days and THE MEDIA started bring it back out all the time.

Bonds, 80% of AMericans didn't care and still dont. We know that baseball had a scandal, not just bonds.

Look at history too. Isn't it funny how the media also take no blame for the "red scare" going on at the time, yet they were the ones blasting it from coast to coast.

I agree with the theme of your post though.

Answer 1

That's a pretty broad question. In this age of 400 channels of television, it is possible to find a news outlet that cater to your specific viewpoints whether it is presented by Bill Maher and Dan Rather or Sean Hannity and Bill O'Riley.

At one time in this country, there was one primary bringer of the news and that was Walter Conkrite. While you may not be happy with what he presented, America did not question him or the network claiming bias.

The problem today is that so many people subscibe to one slanted viewpoint and because those people they read or listen to only reinforce our opinion. Because they are on the air or have a byline, we think that justifies our position. I think it is important to watch and read reports provided by different people and news outlets to have a more balanced perspective.

The media provides stories that they feel will boost their readership or ratings. That is not always the most important information. To compete with general entertainment, the news is becoming less news and more entertainment.

Answer 2

There's always a little bias in the equation. Each person brings a certain set of experiences to a story, and it's hard not to be affected by that.

Overall, though, bias is the most overrated term in the business. Look through the news some time. Most of the stories are a simple presentation of the facts. There's not a whole lot of chance to insert bias when simply repeating what a newsmaker said.

Do some media outlets go out of their way to not offend advertisers? Sadly, yes. Do owners' personal prejudices show up? Sadly, yes. But overall, the legitimate outlets are pretty good at presenting straight stuff.

As for your second question, it should be a mixture. Sometimes people need to hear about things whether they like it or not. Sometimes they demand stuff, which is why "celebrity journalism" is so popular -- people read it. But balance is important.

Answer 3

Unfortunately the media is business driven. For that reason alone they have a hard time with ethics and sensationalism. Because they are so driven, they are also easily manipulated by government, corporations and various other lobbying agents. Usually they tell us only those things they are told to tell us, and those things we are not suppose to know are excluded, so much for the freedom of the press.

I am speaking of course of those media that are part of a major corporation i.e. NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CNN and others in the mass media arena. News papers are fast becoming the domain of big business as well. Soon it will be that the state controls all media and will tell us only those things that they want us to hear.

The FCC an appointed body, not elected, answerable only to the President, decided on it's own long ago what we are allowed to see and hear on radio and TV. This act of censorship is counter to the fourth amendment in that it presumes us incapable of making our own decisions regarding what is appropriate or inappropriate. It reduces us to children and thus makes us easily led by whatever they deem to be in our interest as if they truly knew or even cared.

Answer 4

I can't believe someone is still asking such a naive question.

Anyone who still gets most of their knowledge about the world from the U.S. mainstream media must be very ignorant of the real world and does not even realize their ignorance. The newspapers and TV programs all speak with the same voice in matters relating to international affairs. And that voice is used solely to preserve U.S. government interest and shield U.S. image from being embarassed as much as possible. The news media only tell you the bits that they want you to know. The most laughable joke is that the U.S. media actually claim to be independent and free. Listen to almost every story they did regarding any issue the U.S. had with another nation over the years, epecially those that the U.S. government are not friendly with. As soon as the U.S. government says something, every outlet in the mainstream media spreads the words as if they were facts and repeats them as if they were gospel. The most typical and blatant examples of these are found everyday in the New York Times, CNN, Time magazine, Newsweek magazine, and the big network news programs like ABC, NBC, CBS. The tone of the language used for the U.S. side of the story has very little doubt, very little sarcasm, very few negative insinuations, and very little skepticism.

But when the words come from a "rival" of the U.S government or one that doesn't jive with U.S. interest at the time, at best the U.S. media will give it the minimum exposure possible and made sure it is mentioned in a way that most people who are not careful readers will simply miss it. But even then, they will still use every writing technique they know to cast tons of doubt, sarcasm, and skepticism upon anything that seems to go against U.S. interests at the time. One such common writing technique is insinuating that the opposite is actually true without making such a statement in a straightforward way. Insinuations are often used, through structuring sentences in a certain way and placing labels with negative connotations, to give readers an impression precisely because a straightforward statement of the same message would be easily seen as an obvious lie.

So, whenever I hear the media promoting itself as "independent and free", I always ask: independent from what? Free from what? From my observations over many years, the only rational conclusion is that the U.S. media is the unofficial fourth branch of the U.S. government.

And any "news junkie" who THINKS they know the world from the mouths of the media, without actually venturing to the outside world with an independent open mind, is even MORE ignorant than the journalists that feed the news to them.

In conclusion, DON'T patronize the U.S. news media. Don't watch CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Foxnews...etc. Don't buy the New York Times, Time magazine, Newsweek magazine, USA Today, or don't read news articles from the Associated Press and Reuters...etc. Vote with your dollars, TV remote control, and computer mouse.

When those editors and journalists of the U.S. media are struggling to find jobs, hopefully they'll start to change their manipulative ways.

Answer 5

Of course the media has a bias. Each station on TV or newspaper usually has a political slant. CNN is more liberal, while FOX is more conservative.

As for entertaining, again, of course. The invention of the 24-hour news network killed most stories. They need stuff not only to fill the gaps, but to keep us watching. Ask any reporter/writer and they will admit that most stories are for pure entertainment. Otherwise, no one would read the paper or watch the news.

Answer 6

No Media is going to be saintly, however some are more reliable than others depending again on what is being shown.
At any time the media from un democractic countries and from fundos are least reliable.

Answer 7

media is biased.

last semester i took a class in mass media. one thing that i learned was that newspapers especially will write full page articles if endorsed by companies. if someone is trying to promote something, they pay out the newspapers, same with the news channels.