Media Bias Lecture
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Transcript of Media Bias Lecture
MEDIA BIAS
What it Looks Like, Why it Matters
MEDIA BIAS: A WORKING DEFINITION
• The real or perceived limitation of the press to be objective in their newsgathering and reporting.
• Media bias is also derogatively called “spin.” You may hear politicians say: “The media spun that story to make me look bad. That is not how it happened.”
WHAT CAUSES BIAS?
1. A non-diverse newsroom.2. Pressure from advertisers & interest
groups.3. Reduced funding due to lower ratings.4. Government funding cuts.5. Political affiliations that arise from the
ideological positions of media owners and journalists.
6. A culture of sensationalism.
Source: Fair.org
A “NON-DIVERSE” NEWSROOM
Cause #1
NEWSROOM DIVERSITY: THE STATS
• The American Society of Newspaper Editors conducted a survey in 2007.
• Of the 932 newspapers that responded, nearly half (42%) had no minorities on their full-time staff.
• This is an increase from 2006, when 377 daily newspapers had no full-time minority journalists.
NO REPRESENTATION = MISREPRESENTATION?
• Nearly 57,000 full-time journalists now work in daily newsrooms.
• About 7,800 are people of color.
• Watch this video. As a lone minority in the newsroom, would you have aired it? Is it news? Is it biased?
PRESSURE FROM ADVERTISERS
Cause #2
PRESSURE FROM ADVERTISERS
• Media companies sell audiences to advertisers. Advertisers pay lots of $$.
• If major companies pay big bucks for ads, they certainly do not like to read or see news reports that make their products or services look bad.
• So, advertisers develop a disproportionate power over media companies.
• Even “non-profit” news companies like PBS or NPR are given grants by major corporations.
THE TOP 10 MEDIA ADVERTISERS OF 2008
Rank Parent Company Ad Dollars
Spent1 Procter &
Gamble Co.$2,342,319,3
972 General Motors
Corp.$1,441,747,3
993 AT&T Inc. $1,317,893,3
774 Verizon $1,125,700,5
125 Johnson &
Johnson$1,059,109,1
386 Time Warner Inc. $878,355,332
7 Toyota Motor Corp. $819,377,026
8 General Electric Co. $807,869,688
9 Ford Motor Co. $742,708,529
10 Pepsico Inc. $730,503,931Source: Nielsen
WHICH COMPANIES AVOIDED BAD PRESS...UNTIL RECENTLY?
Rank Parent Company Ad Dollars
Spent1 Procter &
Gamble Co.$2,342,319,3
972 General Motors
Corp.$1,441,747,3
993 AT&T Inc. $1,317,893,3
774 Verizon $1,125,700,5
125 Johnson &
Johnson$1,059,109,1
386 Time Warner Inc. $878,355,332
7 Toyota Motor Corp. $819,377,026
8 General Electric Co. $807,869,688
9 Ford Motor Co. $742,708,529
10 Pepsico Inc. $730,503,931Source: Nielsen
Did you hear: the gov’t tapS YOUR CELL?
• Probably not.• Verizon and AT&T
are the main culprits.
• Pres. Bush allowed them to do so for “national security,” then granted them immunity from lawsuits.
• NSA official, Russell Tice blew the whistle. Watch the video.
Q: What are the dangers of a government spying on its people, 24/7?
LOW RATINGS = REVENUE
Cause #3
The ratINGS GAME
• Until 1963, nightly news lasted only 15 minutes.*
• In June 1980, Ted Turner launched CNN. It was the first 24-hour news channel.
• Suddenly, CNN had to report exciting news...even when there really wasn’t any. Other copycats sprung up and the competition for eyeballs began.
* Source: Does 24-hour news cycle overwhelm us with too much doom and gloom?
AUDIENCE WARS
GOVERNMENT FUNDING CUTS
Cause #4
POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS
Cause #5
A CULTURE OF SENSATIONALISM
Cause #6