This paper entirely focuses on media biases, some of its strategies, and their impact on public opinion. Media bias generally refers to the prejudice of news anchors, journalists, and producers within the media in choosing events and stories that are reported on and how the media covers the same stories. In other words, it can be classified as a lack of media neutrality where journalists are unable to report all available narratives and facts and the need that the selected points be linked to a coherent narrative. According to all sides.com, there are about 16 types of biases in the media. They include spin, unsubstantiated claims, opinion statements presented as facts, sensationalism, mudslinging, mind reading, slant, flawed logic, bias by omission, omission of source attribute, bias by story choice of placement, subjective qualifying adjectives, word choice, negativity bias, photo bias and elite vs. populist bias.
The most common type is the spin, which refers to using vague, dramatic, or sensational language. This bias aims to cloud a reader’s view, preventing them from getting an accurate picture of what happened. Another commonly used bias is the unsubstantiated claim, where reporters make claims without including enough evidence to back them up. These claims usually appear to be facts, yet they do not have specifics and are typically made up by the reporters.
For this paper, the two articles which I choose to compare and contrast are “Trump’s Rising Poll Numbers Suggest He Could Win Reelection” by Reid Wilson, published by The Hill on October 5, 2020: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/522860-trumps-rising-poll-numbers-suggest-he-could-win-reelection and “Trump Dismisses Reports of Record-Setting Early Voting” by Ashley Balcerzak, posted by The New York Times on October 17, 2020: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/17/us/politics/trump-voting.html.
Both of these articles were written about the same person, Donald Trump, and were published within six months of each other. Both talk about Donald Trump’s chances of getting re-elected, but in different ways. The first article talks about how many polls he is doing, and the second talks about how he feels about early voting reports.
The first article by Reid Wilson of The Hill, “Trump’s Rising Poll Numbers Mean He Could Win Reelection,” is not an example of media bias. This article is written in a neutral, factual way and backs up its claims with statistics and polls. It does not say whether the growing number of Trump polls is good or bad; it just shows they exist. The article shows both sides of the argument. It tells us the polls could be wrong, but the numbers could also point to a Trump win.
The second piece, written by Ashley Balcerzak of The New York Times and titled “Trump Dismisses Reports of Record-Setting Early Voting,” is an example of media bias. The tone of this article is hostile, and it paints Donald Trump’s response to the early voting record in an unfavorable light. In addition to this, it does not provide contradictory viewpoints or opinions that could undermine the point of view presented in the article. In addition, the allegations made in the report are not supported by any facts or numbers, contributing to the article’s lack of credibility.
Media bias has become a more prominent factor in shaping public perception. More than half of U.S. adults in 2016 said they found the media too politically biased and skewed toward a particular side (Dunbar, 2020). This has caused a significant increase in public suspicion of the media, reflected in numerous surveys. One Gallup poll from 2017 found that only 32% of Americans either highly or quite trusted the media (Dunbar, 2020). This demonstrates the destructive effect media bias has had on public opinion and confidence in the media. Furthermore, a 2019 Gallup poll indicated that most Americans believe the media is biased toward a particular political party (Dunbar, 2020). That the public is aware of prejudice and distrusts the media due to that bias is more evidence of the influence of media bias on public opinion.
In summary, media trends are pervasive in the news, and it can be difficult to distinguish between facts and opinions. Readers need to be aware of the different types of bias to determine if a news item is reporting accurate or misleading information. It is also essential to consider both sides of the story to ensure the reader has an accurate picture of the situation. Finally, media bias has significantly impacted public opinion and trust in the media. This is evidenced by recent Gallup poll data, which shows that most Americans distrust the media and consider the media to be overly biased and politically biased.
References
Dunbar, D. (2020). Ch. 8: The Media and the Public. In Introduction to Mass Communication (6th ed., pp. 184–219). Sage Publications.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/522860-trumps-rising-poll-numbers-suggest-he-could-win-reelection
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/17/us/politics/trump-voting.html.
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