Traditionally, the media’s role is to give neutral and fair information to the public and to report information as it is. In other words, media houses are expected to report both sides of a story without favoring either. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. Some media houses are compromised by political groups, lobbyists, and other opinion-makers, leading to biased reporting. Unbiased reporting is important and highly commendable because it ensures all parties have equal chances to influence the public.
The first rationale for supporting neutral media reporting is that the public depends on it for information. Therefore, reporting biased information could negatively affect people. The role of the media in promoting or reducing biased views dates back to the 1920s (Lippmann, 1965). As stated in week 9, there has been a lot of research regarding the impact of the media on the public. One reporter and commentator known as Walter Lippmann stated that the public has limited experience with how the government works and how the world around them operates (Lippmann, 1965). Therefore, people rely on the media for such information. Thus, as stated in hypodermic theory (Lippmann, 1965), the perceptions given by the media act as the point of reference for the public and they use it to make decisions about their daily life. The source also notes that information is “shot” into people’s minds and is accepted without questioning. The theory implies that the public does not evaluate information from the media. Therefore, if such information is biased, people are likely to believe it as it is.
The second rationale is that people believe the media to be truthful and reliable. Therefore, the media can set the norms for the public by choosing what to cover or discuss. According to Gerbner et al. (1979), the media determines what people believe to be the reality. The authors used the cultivation theory to conclude that people’s perception of the truth is largely affected by the media. This implies that if the media peddles lies, the public will believe the lies to be true. The choice of the ideas and topics discussed in major media houses and newspapers could, therefore, be used to shape people’s opinions and behavior. This realization implies that the media should not be biased because it could negatively affect people’s beliefs.
Lastly, the increased media usage makes it a critical tool for influential people. Consequently, this makes the media a target tool via which such people can control the people. Therefore, the media need to maintain neutrality in their reporting. Taking an example of the 2012 campaigns in the U.S., the media plays a critical role in influential campaigns and individuals. According to data collected from three major media houses, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News, news about presidential contestants Romney and Obama was given a positive or negative tone to intentionally sway voters (refer to figure 1 below).
Fig. 1. Media coverage of campaigns is increasingly negative, with cable news stations demonstrating more bias in their framing of stories during the 2012 campaign (Pew Research Center, 2012).
The figure implies that the media can be used to run campaigns in a certain way. In neutral media, the percentage of negative and positive tones should have been relatively the same. Similarly, the media could be used to influence people’s attitudes towards religious, medical, economic, and social beliefs.
Conclusively, the analysis shows that the media should not be biased because of the role it plays in societies and the trust accorded to it by the public. Allowing biased media could create massive destruction in the public and affect how people perceive the world around them.
References
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Signorielli, N., Morgan, M., & Jackson-Beeck, M. (1979). The demonstration of power: Violence profile no. 10. Journal of communication, 29(3), 177-196.
Lippmann, W. (1965). Public opinion. 1922. URL: http://infomotions. com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/etext04/pbp nn10. htm.
Pew Research Center (2012). Journalism & Media Staff, “Coverage of the Candidates by Media Sector and Cable Outlet,” Pew Research Center.
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