Media Bias And Its Effect On Us
Rachel Hawkins
AP Lang
Tiffany Post
29 October 2013 Media Bias And Its Effect On Us: Should We Be Concerned? The existence of media and its prevalence in our every day lives has become increasingly common and, as a result, is something about which Americans should be concerned. Countless studies have been conducted in order to determine the effects of media bias on the formations of one's opinions and values on a variety of topics. Most of these studies have displayed a correlation between the views of news providers and the public's perception of issues. In today's world, one has reason – perhaps even duty – to be skeptical and cautious toward the acceptance of journalism and media as truth. Bias is an old technique used for centuries before and is most likely to be around for centuries more. Media bias has a tendency to sway opinions for the use of commercial gain, but “[b]ias in the media wasn't always considered a negative. In fact, until about 100 years ago, it hardly ever occurred to anyone that media should be unbiased” (Frederick). Media was previously thought of as a reporter or writer's educated and rightly-supported views or opinions on a matter. “Everyone agreed that an informed electorate was the basis of a free society, but they didn't take that to mean that the news should be delivered without a point of view”(Frederick). It is when these supported opinions are stated as fact that it has the potential to become a big problem in American society. In the beginning of the 1900's lack of bias became the new ideal. From the American society of newspaper editors, a new code of ethics was drafted . It declared that "news reports should be free from opinion or bias of any kind" (Frederick). This ideal then became so widely accepted that people began to assume all news, where ever and whomever it came from, was always accurate and unbiased. This mentality of immediate acceptance remains in American viewers today, but the American public
AP Lang
Tiffany Post
29 October 2013 Media Bias And Its Effect On Us: Should We Be Concerned? The existence of media and its prevalence in our every day lives has become increasingly common and, as a result, is something about which Americans should be concerned. Countless studies have been conducted in order to determine the effects of media bias on the formations of one's opinions and values on a variety of topics. Most of these studies have displayed a correlation between the views of news providers and the public's perception of issues. In today's world, one has reason – perhaps even duty – to be skeptical and cautious toward the acceptance of journalism and media as truth. Bias is an old technique used for centuries before and is most likely to be around for centuries more. Media bias has a tendency to sway opinions for the use of commercial gain, but “[b]ias in the media wasn't always considered a negative. In fact, until about 100 years ago, it hardly ever occurred to anyone that media should be unbiased” (Frederick). Media was previously thought of as a reporter or writer's educated and rightly-supported views or opinions on a matter. “Everyone agreed that an informed electorate was the basis of a free society, but they didn't take that to mean that the news should be delivered without a point of view”(Frederick). It is when these supported opinions are stated as fact that it has the potential to become a big problem in American society. In the beginning of the 1900's lack of bias became the new ideal. From the American society of newspaper editors, a new code of ethics was drafted . It declared that "news reports should be free from opinion or bias of any kind" (Frederick). This ideal then became so widely accepted that people began to assume all news, where ever and whomever it came from, was always accurate and unbiased. This mentality of immediate acceptance remains in American viewers today, but the American public