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Media Bias Term Paper

Media Bias A liberal society is perceived to have no existence without news media that facilitates dissemination of right information to the individuals with a view to make them aware of the pronouncements. At the moment the news media fails to deliver the truth it have distorts the perception of individuals. The autocrats have always attempted to maneuver the public opinion by steering the press coverage to their advantages. Even Hitler relied upon the government owned press for publicizing his Nuremberg and Munich rallies. Lenin depended upon his newspaper ISKRA so as to popularize his Bolshevik revolution. He concentrated on discontents so as attain authority for himself. However, our media are not owned by government as was the case in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, we are required to presume that are not free. (Media Deception is more than Liberal Bias)

About seventy million Americans depend upon the television telecasting for getting the updated information. Their opinion is much influenced by the materials they visualize, they hear and to some extent what they study. It is not possible of the American citizens to cast well informed votes or formulate conversant decisions in case of public policies without appropriate and undistorted information, it is of utmost significance of the American democracy that the television news and other such available media are to be extremely fair and unprejudiced. (Media Bias Basics) The scholars are striving for the years to find out whether the media have an ideological bias. According to Goldberg, in the era of Jennings and Brokaws and Rathers, the conservatives have no place in the mainstream and are required to be searched out. This is considered to have been proved on the basis of available trend and capable of being examined in this line. (Issue: Liberal Media Bias) The underlying fact of liberal bias of the mainstream media has since long been regarded as the conservative perception. (Journalism Survey: A Report Examining the 'Liberal Media' Claim: Journalists' Views on Politics, Economic Policy and Media Coverage)

The concept of 'liberal media' is very common among the informal watcher of televisions and reader of news and commentary both in printed form or online. The concept spreads over the present political debate. The concept is so widely adapted in the American life with its recurrence that it is rarely queried. (Distortion, blindness and the 'liberal' media) The public personalities from Richard Nixon to Newt Gingrich, at different times have taken shelter on their claim of liberal media out to get them. A multitude of traditional sayings reveal pundits and media watch groups striking an ideology that the media demonstrates an inherently 'liberal' inclination. (Journalism Survey: A Report Examining the 'Liberal Media' Claim: Journalists' Views on Politics, Economic Policy and Media Coverage) The traditionalists have since long made the claim that the mass media normally is influenced towards the left. Even some Democrats have admitted of this, and Gallup polls reveal much transparently that there are more liberal reporters, editors and owners in the media than the conservatives. (Media has a liberal bias)

The attack of conservatism on the news media is based on two general grounds. The views of the Journalists are left to that of the public and the journalists frame news content in a mode that emphasizes such left criterions. (Journalism Survey: A Report Examining the 'Liberal Media' Claim: Journalists' Views on Politics, Economic Policy and Media Coverage) The traditionalists have faith on the mass media and more emphatically the news programs that made the reports inclined towards the liberal position on issues. (Media Bias Basics) Amidst a society...

The responsibility of the media persons extends to that of watchdogs, those are normally duty bound to make the politicians streamlined and the general public fully aware. To be a journalist it is essential to have a high standard of integrity, along with much emphasis of unbiased reporting. (Media has a liberal bias)
However, cannot be regarded as the matter of common awareness. The underlying fact of liberal news media bias largely depends upon the ideology that most of the media personnel tend to political inclination towards the left. Bozell is of the opinion that the radical editors and reporters resort to inclined news coverage. (Distortion, blindness and the 'liberal' media) It is quite irrefutable that the irresistible majority of the news anchors and reporters in respect of the major television networks are increasingly liberal politically. It is quite indisputably agreed that the prejudice of the media personnel has a profound impact on their reporting. It is however, the journalists find it possible theoretically to keep apart his views to exclude their influence on the reporting. However, his involvement more intensively in the process ranging from news selection and emphasis to editing and delivery he is thought to be less probable in resisting the temptation to slant the news. The duties of host, to illustrate, if were confined to only reading the 22 minutes of copy of the nightly news, he may be capable of shunning away from any variation that would have expressed his inclinations.

However, the involvement of most of the hosts largely excels the simple reading. The sometimes interfere in selection of the news items and take a major part in scribing and editing the copy. There is however, no fault with the commentators that can be detected when they permit ideological opinion to bias his opinion segment, it is felt quite impossible to deter from it. However, when the broadcasters cautiously include their inclinations in the news items, they are spreading their views as the news which is considered catalyst and unforgivable. The networks have such responsibilities that incite trust by not allowing inclusion of their prejudices into such news items. Alternatively the viewer particularly the informal viewer that relies upon the journalists for presentation of the facts seems to have cheated. This is what is being occurring in case of the major television networks and the major print media in this regard over a long period of time. They seem to spoil the newscast and articles, from the beginning to end by infusing their prejudices. With the addition of insult to such harms they are not usually refuting their prejudices. (Undisclosed Media Bias)

In unnamed feedbacks they often admit the fact however, invariably stresses upon the biases that do not affect their goals. Most of them are addicted to their own self- complacency with their belief in what they are actually opining. However, they are as clear as they are self-righteous. Dan Rather, host of the CBS Evening News delivered a seminar on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2003, in respect of the very form of the clandestine prejudiced reporting. In two isolated deliberations he spontaneously delivered unwarranted cheap shots at President Bush even without pretension of disguise of his genuine disapproval of the man. In both the circumstances however, Rather was unquestionably critical of the president for not withdrawing the campaign fundraiser with a view to micromanaging the power blackout of the last week. Mockingly, Rather pointed out this to be the reason that he has not been in Washington. However, Rather was not fully convinced with the reporter Bill Plante who advanced the inadequate critical explanation that President Bush was not in favor of calling off the scheduled fundraiser since he believed the blackout was quite incidental and do not involve any terrorist activities. Rather was resentful in saying that Andrew Card was to be kept in charge who was not an elected official. (Undisclosed Media Bias)

This is to be noted that Bush specifically made the nation understand that no act of terrorism was alleged and that the officials were working hard to solve the problem. The local government personnel stationed at ranging from New York to Michigan were persistently guiding the problem of their development. Only the interested close minded observers seem to have visualized the performance of Rather and failed to observe his punch at Bush. It is quite unthinkable that he would have dealt with the President Clinton in this way. This is regarded as only one of the thousands of examples that occur in respect of the nightly broadcast news. The conventional media persistently are denying their clandestine prejudices. Their refutations are thought to be absurd the million of the watchers have perceived of it pretty well and are not concerned with it any more. (Undisclosed Media Bias)

Most of the Americans accede to the trend given below. There have been not less than eleven surveys ever since 1962 that attract political views of hundreds of journalists. In 1971 they were liberal to the up to 53% and conservative by 17%. The survey of 1976 by the Washington Press Crops reveals that about 59% were liberal and 18% were conservative. (Media Bias) A survey of 3,000 media reporters of about 621 newspapers were made by Los Angeles Times during 1985. The findings has close association to the…

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References

Barro, Robert J. Bias beyond a Reasonable Doubt- Issue: Yes, the media are overwhelmingly liberal. Volume 10; Issue 13. 13 December, 2004. Retrieved from http://theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/997meijg.asp Accessed on 12 December, 2004

Croteau, David. Journalism Survey: A Report Examining the 'Liberal Media' Claim: Journalists' Views on Politics, Economic Policy and Media Coverage. Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Sociology and Anthropology. June 1998. Retrieved from http://www.tnstate.edu/cmcginnis/journalismsurvey.htm Accessed on 12 December, 2004

Dee, Jimmy. Distortion, blindness and the 'liberal' media. Retrieved from http://www.onlinejournal.com/Media/082004Dee/082004dee.html Accessed on 12 December, 2004

Fiedor, Doug. More Liberal Media Bias: Fiedor Report on the News No: 321. 17 October 2004. Retrieved from http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1247176/posts Accessed on 12 December, 2004
Florio, Travis. Media has a liberal bias. 26 March, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.westerncourier.com/news/2004/03/26/Opinion/Media.Has.A.Liberal.Bias-642719.shtml Accessed on 12 December, 2004
Hannaford, Peter. Bozell Meticulously Documents Leftward Tilt in Weapons of Mass Distortion Dissecting Liberal Media Bias. The Human Events Online. The National Conservative Weekly. 4 October, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=5256 Accessed on 12 December, 2004
Issue: Liberal Media Bias. 28 April, 2004. Retrieved from http://gadflyer.com/ammodump/?AmmoDumpID=4 Accessed on 12 December, 2004
Media Bias Basics. Retrieved from http://secure.mediaresearch.org/news/MediaBiasBasics.html
Media Bias. Retrieved from http://www.youmeworks.com/media_bias.html Accessed on 12 December, 2004
O'Hara, Debbie. Media Deception is more than Liberal Bias. 27 September, 2003. Retrieved from http://www.newswithviews.com/Ohara/debbie9.htm Accessed on 12 December, 2004
Rohrich, Klaus. The liberal media loses its power. 11 November, 2004 Retrieved from http://www.torontofreepress.com/2004/klaus111104.htm Accessed on 12 December, 2004
Stop the Spin. Retrieved from http://secure.mediaresearch.org/Campaign2000/stopspin.html Accessed on 12 December, 2004
The Media Elite. Retrieved from http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-oldliberalmedia.htm Accessed on 12 December, 2004
Retrieved from http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34188 Accessed on 12 December, 2004
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