I am not a news watching, news listening, or news reading fanatic, but at times I do indulge in the various media: CNN, FOX, TIME, NEWSWEEK NPR (National Public Radio) and CPR (Colorado Public Radio). I have used all capital letters to list these media outlets. This is because I want to appear unbiased, something that all of the media claim for themselves, accuse opposing media of violating, and which none of them deliver.
While CNN uses phrases such as, “Trump, without evidence...,” Trump falsely claims...,” and Trump’s rambling speech...,” FOX NEWS, “...urges Biden to ‘stop making excuses…that ” Biden didn’t have the guts...,” and “Biden intended to lie and deceive...” It doesn’t take a genius to see how politically biased both the left and the right present the “news”
I don’t think that it is possible for anyone to be completely unbiased. As someone has said, “We don’t see the world as it is, we see the world as we are.” And so, I don’t blame the media for their biased approach to news reporting. I do, however, blame them for their dishonesty in refusing to admit it, under the pretense that they are simply reporting the truth. This denial of bias creates blind spots that they are incapable of correcting.
I occasionally listen to radio station KRCC, a Colorado Public radio station. Not long ago, I heard a statement that disturbs me: “When you come to KRCC, we give you the facts. All you have to do is listen, so make it easy on yourself.” The assumption seems to be that I can trust these reporters to deliver only the pure facts to me. I am merely told to be the passive recipient of unadulterated and unbiased truth.
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There are many ways that bias is subtly introduced into “news” stories. We hear statements such as “a recent study has now shown that...,” or, “research has now proven that...” And we are expected, without any further explanation, to accept this as absolute truth. Maybe I am too cynical, but I think that research, surveys, and studies can also be biased.
Someone once said, “A research project may be considered a success if no more than fifty percent of the data has to be thrown out in order to prove the hypothesis.” I do, however, appreciate it when I hear statements such as, “a recent study has suggested that...”
Some questions that might be important in considering bias in news reporting: What information is given and what information is withheld? Who is interviewed, who is not, and for how long?—how much of the conversation is edited?—what questions are asked and what questions are not asked?—who is interrupted in an interview, and who is not?—These and many other tactics are used by the media, in order to promote their viewpoint and influence the conclusion of the public.
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Race issues are some of the hottest topics today. “Real Time” host Bill Maher, emphasizes “...the progress on racial and social issues that has been made in America,” While Mitch Landrieu, CNN commentator, states, “Racism remains this nation's Achilles' heel… Who is telling the “whole truth?”
While the right seems to want to dismiss race problems by saying, “Well, at least it’s better than it use to be”, the left can’t seem to talk enough about race problems. The truth, as is so often the case, probably lies somewhere in-between the two extremes.
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Racially charged stories arouse more interest. And so, since they can have many sequels, stories that can be framed in racial conflict are job security for the media.
Not that they are the only ones to use such methods, but since, I sometimes listen to Colorado Public Radio (CPR) while driving, I’m going to pick on them in this essay.
They talk a lot about systemic, or institutional racism, yet they seem, to me, to be the very ones who fan the flames of racism.
CPR’s news “reporting” is constantly framed by segregation vocabulary: Women of color, Black athletes, White males, Latino voters, Hispanic businessmen, Asian students, and on and on and on.
These racial labels, constantly paraded before the public, emphasize, and draw attention to our differences. Of course, I imagine they would claim that they are only trying to “raise awareness.” (the epitome of a politically correct media term).
I recently heard a radio interview with a black woman who was raised by white parents. In it, she explained her feelings of isolation and loneliness as she was growing up, and how this had negatively affected her life and relationships as an adult. I’m pretty sure that this woman was not chosen at random, and I doubt that the radio broadcasted interview was her first interview.
I would suggest that she had been interviewed before, and was hand selected for the story she would tell; a story that would support the racial agenda of the radio station. No alternative perspective was offered. It was intended that listeners were to be left with the understanding that this woman spoke for most, if not all, black children who had been raised by white parents.
I am not speaking from some distant perspective. I have a bias—My wife and I are white, and we raised two black daughters, so we are very familiar with race issues. Once while traveling with our daughters, someone put a KKK flyer on our car’s windshield. Over four years ago, one of our daughters was murdered in Aurora by a black man. Since the race “card” could not be played, the story was quickly dismissed by the media.
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Another story I heard was one that gave statistics from a school district which showed the number of black and hispanic students who had been suspended compared to the lower number of white students suspended during the same period of time.
Of course this was intended to expose systemic racism in the school. However, there was no mention, at all, of the behavior, of any of the students, which had led to their suspensions.
It appears to me, that this would be critical information if the goal was to discover the truth. However, it seems that the media, often times, only presents the information which will reinforce the conclusion they have already drawn, and the conclusion they are bating their listeners to draw.
Unbiased news reporting is an oxymoron, and I don’t expect that the media will ever, or can ever, present the news totally objectively. But CPR assures me that, All I have to do is listen to KRCC to get the facts, and make it easy on myself.” No, this is definitely NOT all I have to do! And no, we should NOT “make it easy on ourselves.”
The responsibility falls on each of us as individuals. We must listen with a critical ear and refuse to be manipulated or to have conclusions drawn for us. This is a difficult thing to ask of a public that has been conditioned by sound bites, twitter posts, and short cuts, but let us all try.
Let us refuse to jump on the bandwagon of the left or the right, simply because they claim to be giving us only the truth. Let each of us do our homework, and take responsibility for our own perspective and opinion.
In view of the "follow the science" urging and the computer modeling of science, it's helpful to remember that world renowned statistician, George Box, is quoted, "“All models are wrong, but some are useful.”
Could not agree more, Dick! I have long yearned for a "just the facts, Ma'am" type of news outlet. I don't think they can do it without some sort of bias, though. I guess it really is up to us to discern the truth as best we can. Thank you for encouraging us to put on our thinking caps!