Bias in the Newspaper

1
Bias in the Newspaper
2
What Makes The News?

• Trying to define what constitutes news is a
  delicate business. Some of the key factors
  include
• Impact Is the only factory in town closing down?
  That has a bigger impact than two people being
  laid off, so it's bigger news. A disaster is big
  news because of its impact, leaving people hurt
  and homeless.??Conflict A demonstration for
  animal rights in which people peacefully march
  and chant slogans is not a major news story. But
  if a confrontation develops between the
  protesters and a fur coat merchant, and someone
  gets hurt, it becomes a major story because the
  level of conflict has increased.??

3
What Makes The News?

• Prominence Are celebrities or politicians
  involved in a story? If so, it's a bigger story.
  A failed marriage in the Royal Family is a big
  headline around the world, but the same problems,
  if they happened to your next-door neighbour,
  wouldn't even make the local paper.??Proximity
  If your newspaper is in Timmins, Ontario, and a
  homeless person freezes to death on Timmins' main
  street one winter night, that's big news. But if
  your newspaper is in Whitehorse, Yukon, you are
  not as interested in a death in Timmins, because
  it isn't close to your readers.
• Freshness News has a short shelf life. If a
  development happened an hour before the paper's
  deadline, it's bigger news than if it's 24 hours
  old.??Novelty There's a saying that "if a dog
  bites a man it isn't news, but if a man bites a
  dog, that's news." Human interest Related to
  novelty. Stories about the 96-year-old who swims
  in the ocean every morning, winter and summer, or
  about the family with 20 foster children and how
  they cope, are of interest to readers.

4
Goals

• Students will be able to analyze the bias in the
  articles that they read
• Students will be able to understand the reasons
  that Bias exists in the media

5
Introduction

• It has long been the expectation of Americans
  that the information we are provided with by the
  newspapers is factual and unbiased. Sadly, the
  truth of our society is that it is very difficult
  to find unbiased information. Everyone has
  opinions that inform how they write and speak
  about issues, therefore the duty of finding the
  facts of an issue are passed on to you the reader.

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What is Bias?

• Selection of which evens and stores are reported
  and how they are covered
• Perspective of an individual journalist or
  article rather than facts to the story
• Inability of journalists to report ALL available
  stories and facts, and the requirement that
  selected facts
• Manipulation of information to fit agenda
• Government influence
• Market forces that result in a biased
  presentation include the ownership of the news
  source, concentration of media ownership, the
  selection of staff, the preferences of an
  intended audience, and pressure from advertisers
• BASICALLY PRESENTING ONLY ONE SIDE OF A STORY!

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Why is there Bias here? Some rules

• The media are neither objective nor completely
  honest in their portrayal of important issues.
• Framing devices are employed in stories by
  featuring some angles and downplaying others. (it
  makes the story more entertaining)
• The news is a product not only of manipulation,
  but of the ideological and economic conditions
  under which the media operate.
• While appearing independent, the news media are
  institutions that are heavily influenced by
  government and business interests.

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Continued

• Reporters sources frequently dominate the flow
  of information as a way of furthering their own
  overt and hidden agendas. In particular, the
  heavy reliance on political officials and
  other-government related experts occurs through a
  preferential sourcing selection process that
  often excludes dissident voices.

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Some Steps To Identify Bias

• Look at the article and see if you could draw a
  completely different conclusion from the
  information presented
• How does the writer describe what others say, are
  some of the sources presented as more reliable
  than others, do some claim while others present
  or explain?
• Is the Authors opinion expressed in the overall
  tone of the article and does the author use
  emotionally charged language
• Watch out for buzzwords like the liberal
  agenda, or the Christian Right.
• Examine any statistics in the article what
  organization published them
• Watch out for press releases
• Who owns the news outlet

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Sam Hughes and Bias

• Read the following article. Once you have read
  the article, jot down a list of words that would
  describe Hughes based on the information from the
  article.
• http//www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/ed
  ucational/handouts/broadcast_news/sir_sam_steps_do
  wn.cfm

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Sam Hughes and Bias

• Now, read the following article, based on the
  same event, and jot down a list of words that
  would describe Hughes from the opposing point of
  view.
• http//www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/ed
  ucational/handouts/broadcast_news/hughes_fired_fro
  m_cabinet.cfm
• HOW DID YOUR WORDS DIFFER FROM THE TWO ARTICLES?

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Editor Assignment

• In this activity, you must think like the
  gatekeeper or editor of a newspaper. Read the
  following article, and in a Kmail, submit answers
  to the following questions. In the Kmail, also
  include the lists of words you jotted down for
  the two previous articles
• http//www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/ed
  ucational/handouts/broadcast_news/humphrey_discoun
  ts.cfm
• What choices in the vocabulary would you make?
  (You should choose a word when there is a choice
  (example/example))
• How would you have the story placed in your
  paper? Which section?
• Select the most appropriate headline from the two
  choices.
• Explain the reasons for each of your responses.
  (Remember that you oppose Humphrey.)
• Once you have done this, imagine that you are now
  supportive of Mr. Humphrey.
• What do you choose to do now (re-answer questions
  1-4).
• What does this exercise tell us about media
  values?

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Bias In The Newspaper Activity

• Go into the Unit 1 Assignments section of your
  current events course.
• Along with your bias activity you completed in
  this lesson, complete the Bias in the Newspaper
  activity listed under Unit 1 Assignments.
• Submit both assignments, TOGETHER (in the same
  Kmail), to your teacher.