Fair.org: "Challenging" "media bias" since 1986
Hey everyone! Welcome back to my blog, the best blog ever to exist. Which reminds me, today's topic...
Bias in the media is rampant, especially when you take into consideration the current political administration. No matter whose side you're on, you can look into the media and find articles that trash Trump to the ground, or that build him up on a pedestal, with few acknowledging both sides, or even the idea that there are two sides. Today we're examining an article from Fair.org, whose tagline is "Challenging media bias since 1986." Considering this claim, you'd think it would be a challenge for me to examine bias in their articles. You would of course be wrong. Below are some screenshots of the article, which I've annotated to highlight several different types of media bias.
Colorful, right? Interesting for a site which is based on challenging bias in media. Now that we know the article is biased, let's examine how and why.
The purpose of this article is to call out media coverage of the migrant caravan which Trump contested in the past few weeks, coinciding with the 2018 midterm elections. It incorporates liberal bias, which we know simply because it's written about something Trump did and sheds negative light over it. We know the purpose because of the headline: "Who, Us? Corporate Media Ignore Their Role in Trump’s Refugee ‘Invasion’ Panic". It paints the corporate media as a foolish villain, while the quotes around "invasion" imply that both Trump and the media are mislabeling the migrant caravan. The names attached to different sources serve as a vehicle for the purpose as well (bias through names): "Right wing xenophobic propaganda", "liberal media", "elite newspapers", "corporate media"...they all charge forms of media with titles that imply importance and thus state that they are undermining their ability to present news properly, or at least factually. Finally, the word choice throughout the article furthers the purpose (bias through word choice). Loaded words like "avalanche" (paragraph 1), "Siren song" (paragraph 2), and "hysterics" (paragraph 6) excite the reader's emotions, using pathos to turn them against the "corporate media" but also against Trump and his methods. (Side note: Bias through statistics is noted in dark blue, which uses logos to appeal to the sensibility of the reader. It's not as noticeable in this article as bias through word choice, but still worth mentioning.)
So now you know some different types of bias in media, and maybe not to trust Fair.org to be unbiased. Hopefully this blog post enlightened you, or at the least entertained you. Let me know in the comments--have you read any biased articles lately? Or, even better, highlight some examples of bias in my blog posts!
Sincerely,
The best blog writer to exist ever
Bias in the media is rampant, especially when you take into consideration the current political administration. No matter whose side you're on, you can look into the media and find articles that trash Trump to the ground, or that build him up on a pedestal, with few acknowledging both sides, or even the idea that there are two sides. Today we're examining an article from Fair.org, whose tagline is "Challenging media bias since 1986." Considering this claim, you'd think it would be a challenge for me to examine bias in their articles. You would of course be wrong. Below are some screenshots of the article, which I've annotated to highlight several different types of media bias.
Colorful, right? Interesting for a site which is based on challenging bias in media. Now that we know the article is biased, let's examine how and why.
The purpose of this article is to call out media coverage of the migrant caravan which Trump contested in the past few weeks, coinciding with the 2018 midterm elections. It incorporates liberal bias, which we know simply because it's written about something Trump did and sheds negative light over it. We know the purpose because of the headline: "Who, Us? Corporate Media Ignore Their Role in Trump’s Refugee ‘Invasion’ Panic". It paints the corporate media as a foolish villain, while the quotes around "invasion" imply that both Trump and the media are mislabeling the migrant caravan. The names attached to different sources serve as a vehicle for the purpose as well (bias through names): "Right wing xenophobic propaganda", "liberal media", "elite newspapers", "corporate media"...they all charge forms of media with titles that imply importance and thus state that they are undermining their ability to present news properly, or at least factually. Finally, the word choice throughout the article furthers the purpose (bias through word choice). Loaded words like "avalanche" (paragraph 1), "Siren song" (paragraph 2), and "hysterics" (paragraph 6) excite the reader's emotions, using pathos to turn them against the "corporate media" but also against Trump and his methods. (Side note: Bias through statistics is noted in dark blue, which uses logos to appeal to the sensibility of the reader. It's not as noticeable in this article as bias through word choice, but still worth mentioning.)
So now you know some different types of bias in media, and maybe not to trust Fair.org to be unbiased. Hopefully this blog post enlightened you, or at the least entertained you. Let me know in the comments--have you read any biased articles lately? Or, even better, highlight some examples of bias in my blog posts!
Sincerely,
The best blog writer to exist ever
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