Media and Bias

Note: This slideshow includes frequent videos. A

headset or earbuds are recommended.
The definition of Media
The book uses the following definition. “A Medium” is a
means of communication; it transmits some kind of
information. Media is the plural of medium. Media can
reach large, widely dispersed audiences simultaneously.”

Media can take on many different forms. The internet, TV,

Radio (the car radio especially), magazines, podcasts,
newspapers, books, movies, pamphlets, leaflets, banners,
billboards, and many more mediums of communication.
The culmination of which is the Mass Media.
 Where do people get
their news?
The graph to the side from the Pew
Research Center states that most
people get their news from the TV.
However, upon analyzing the bottom
graph, certain age groups use vastly
different mediums. For most 18-29
year olds, Online sources accounted
for 50%.

https://www.journalism.org/2016/07/07/pathways-to-news/
 Reflection

Most young people state that they do not watch the news. This does not mean young people
do not interact with media. Think about this.

How many hours a day do you think you use your phone for entertainment or Social Media?

How many hours a week do you think you use your phone for entertainment or Social Media?

If you want to know, most phones have internal settings that allow you to view your total
screen time. Especially during this irregular time, those numbers might be larger than the
norm, but the information can still reflect that amount of time you are subconsciously exposed
to media.
 When examining Media, we
must examine the two different
types of Media.
1: Private Media/Commercial
Broadcasting
2: Government-run/state-run Media
 Private Media/Commercial Broadcasting
vs Government/state-run Media
Private Media/Commercial Government Run/state-run Media
Broadcasting
-Not owned by or affiliated with any -Owned by a country’s government
government in the world
-Relies on government subsidies and
-Owned by privately held corporations other monies allocated to the Media

-Relies on running advertisements in -Does not require and rarely includes

order to make money advertisement

-Shows, advertisements, and messages -Messages run are specifically meant

to tell the viewer what to think and
dispersed through the media are based
back the opinion of the state.
on corporate input and viewer feedback
 Private Media/Commercial Broadcasting

This lesson will focus primarily on Commercial Broadcasting. We will be examining

state-run media next week.

The US mass media is largely held by private corporations. There are no state-run
newspapers, magazines, radio stations, tv networks, internet source, or any other
form of media (Not even CSPAN). The majority of media sources in the United
States are held and funded by private corporations. The 5 largest are AT&T,
Comcast, Disney, ViacomCBS, and Fox Corporation.

The blue hyperlink provides greater detail on who owns what in the American
Media network
 Political Media Bias
Before moving forward, I would like to refresh your memory on political bias.

A news media that is either on or A news media A news media that is either on or leans to
leans to the Left means they have a that is in the the Right means they have a consistent
consistent bias in favor of liberal middle has no bias in favor of conservative viewpoints
viewpoints consistent bias
towards either
side
Understanding the Types of Bias
https://get.checkology.org/lesson/understanding-bias/

Attached above is a link discussing Bias in the media. Once you’ve clicked the
link, you will press the Green “Get Started” button. This link utilizes a series of
embedded videos and exercises similar to any online seminar you may take in the
future. For the purposes of this lesson, you will only need to view Part 1, which
ends at the 16th circle.

View the videos and interact with the questions. Return to this slideshow when
complete.
 AllSides
As an introduction to examining media bias, I’d like you to examine the above
website, AllSides.com. The hyperlink of which is in the title. The website is by no
means perfect, but it’s a good start. AllSides examines hundreds of different news
media and ranks their overall political leaning. Furthermore, you can research a topic
(say Covid-19) and see how it is being reported by the various political leanings.

The “News” section contains several articles that examine news from the “Left, Right
and Center.” I would recommend briefly reading an article. An example of which is on
the following slide. You may struggle to find anything not relating to the Covid-19
pandemic, but you will still be able to find examples of media bias.
In this modern age of easily-accessible and
omnipresent media, it is important to understand
what the signs of bias are and how to determine
what constitutes a reliable source.