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ALookatBiasinInforma0on

WhatisBias?•  Biasmeanssomeoneisonlypu3ngforwardonesideofanargument.– Forexample:

•  Anadvertwillonlytellyouthegoodthingsaboutaproduct,andmayexaggeratethose!

•  Remember,awritermayonlybetellingyouonesideofastory!–  alwaysthinkaboutwhatawritermaynotbetellingyou.

–  don’talwaysbelievewhatyouread! “They’reGreat!”AccordingtoTonytheTiger.

Buthowaboutallthepeoplewhohavediabetesbecauseofallthesugar?

TypesofBias

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Omission•  LeavingonesideoutofanarNcle,oraseriesofarNclesoveraperiodofNme.

•  Ignoringfactsthattendtodisproveliberalclaims,orthatsupportconservaNvebeliefs(orviseversa)

•  Tofindinstancesofbiasbyomission,beawareoftheconservaNveandliberalperspecNvesoncurrentissues.–  Example:SeeiftheconservaNveperspecNveisincludedinstoriesonaparNculareventorpolicy.

Selec0onofSources•  Includingmoresourcesthatsupportoneviewoveranother.–  Thisbiascanalsobeseenwhenareporterusessuchphrasesas"expertsbelieve,""observerssay,"or"mostpeoplebelieve".

•  Whenanewsstoryonlypresentsoneside,itisobviouslythesidethereportersupports.–  JournalistsoWengolookingforquotestofittheirfavoriteargumentintoanewsstory.

ExampleofCNNprogramsthatinterview“panelofexperts”toaddcommentary

andopiniontoastory.

•  Notallstorieswillincludeexperts,butinthosethatdo,makesureaboutanequalnumberofconservaNvesandliberalsarequoted.–  Ifastoryquotesnon‐experts,

suchasthoseportrayedasaverageciNzens,checktobesurethataboutanequalnumbercomefrombothsidesoftheissueinquesNon.

OccidentalCollege?Whereisthat?Howisshean“expert?”

Withoutknowingthestory,whatques0onsshouldyouaskyourselfabouther0tle?

• Is/wassheawitnesstoanevent?• Doesshegotoclassatthecollege?• Doessheworkatthecollege?• Issheaparentofacollegestudent?

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StorySelec0on•  ApaaernofhighlighNngnewsstoriesthatcoincidewiththeagendaofonesidewhileignoringstoriesthatcoincidewiththeagendaoftheotherside.–  Example:PrinNngastoryorstudyreleasedbyaliberalgroupbutignoringstudiesonthesameorsimilartopicsreleasedbyconservaNvegroups(andviseversa).

Webnewssite“TheDrudgeReport”runsmanynega0vestoriesaboutliberalpoli0cians.

Whiteflagimpliessurrenderordefeat.

•  ToidenNfybiasbystoryselecNonyou'llneedtoknowtheconservaNveandliberalsidesoftheissue.

•  SeehowmuchcoverageconservaNveissuesgetcomparedtoissuesontheliberalagenda(andviseversa).–  Howacertainstoryorheadlinetreatsaperson(PosiNve/NegaNve)

Ques0onstoaskyourself?IsthisaposiNveornegaNveheadline?

WhatpoliNcalpartydoesHilaryClintonbelongto?IsthispartyknowntobeconservaNveor

liberal?

DoyouthinktheDrudgeReportisconservaNveorLiberal?

DoyouseeBiasbystoryselec0oninthispicture?

Whodoyouthinkisbeingtreatedbeaer,theObama’sorthePalin’s?

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Placement•  Storyplacementisameasureofhowimportanttheeditorconsidersthestory.– Studieshaveshownthat,inthecaseoftheaveragenewspaperreaderandtheaveragenewsstory,mostpeoplereadonlytheheadline.

ReporNng9/11onthefrontpageisanappropriateuseof

placement.

•  BiasbyplacementiswhereinthepaperorinanarNcleastoryoreventisprinted.– Tolocateexamplesofbiasbyplacement,observewhereanewspaperplacespoliNcalstories.

–  IsonearNcleonthefrontpageandotheronthe6thpage. Doyouthinkthisisan

appropriatestoryforthefrontpageofanewspaper?

Labeling•  Biasbylabelingcomesintwoforms.–  ThefirstisthetaggingofpoliNciansandgroupswithextremelabels.

–  ThesecondkindofbiasbylabelingoccurswhenareporternotonlyfailstoidenNfyaliberalasaliberal,butdescribesthepersonorgroupwithposiNvelabels,suchas"anexpert.”

Yes,butwhatis“TheBlueandWhite?”

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•  Whenlookingforbiasbylabeling,rememberthatnotalllabelingisbiasedorwrong(Aslongastheyequallylabeleverybody).–  Biasbylabelingispresentwhenthestorylabelsoneside,butnottheother.

– Whenthestoryusesmoreextremesoundinglabelsforonesidethantheotherside.•  "ultra‐conservaNve,“"farright,”"liberal""farleW,"and"ultra‐liberal".

TheNewYorkTimesisoWenlabeledasa“liberal”newspaper.

TheNewYorkPostislabeleda“conservaNve”newspaper.

LookingatthisnewspaperheadlinewhatwouldmakeyouassumetheNewYorkPostisconservaNve.

Spin•  BiasbyspinoccurswhenthestoryhasonlyoneinterpretaNonofaneventorpolicy,totheexclusionoftheother.

•  Spininvolvestone‐it'sareporter'ssubjecNvecommentsaboutobjecNvefacts;makesoneside'sideologicalperspecNvelookbeaerthananother.

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•  Tocheckifit'sspin,observewhichinterpretaNonofaneventorpolicyanewsstorymatches‐theliberalorconservaNve.–  Ifastoryreflectsonetotheexclusionoftheother,thenyou'vefoundbiasbyspin.

WasthepresidentofColumbiaUniversityCollegeDemocratsinterviewed?

NewscommentatorBillO’Reillyhasevenwriaenabestselling

bookdenouncing“spin.”

ComedyNewsProgramming

Inthepastdecadecomedy/newsprogramminghasbecomeincreasinglypopular.

• HumorousslantonimportantpoliNcalissues.

• OWencriNcalofbothsides.

• However,theysNllhavepoliNcalbias.

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TheDailyShow•  BlatantlyLiberal–Theydonottryandhideit.–  DescribedasawatchdogtopopularconservaNvemedia.

TheColbertReport•  StephenColbertplaysanultra‐conservaNvetalkshowhost.•  ModeledaWerBillO’Reilly•  CharacterdisplaysconservaNvestereotypes.

TheTwoMostPopular

ColbertandSweetness•  StephenColbertoWensaysheis“inacommiaedrelaNonshipwithmylifepartner,Sweetness.”

•  Sweetnessisahandgun.•  ThisplaysuptothestereotypethatallconservaNvesaregun‐to3ngmaniacs.

•  ColbertandSweetnesshavebecomeaculthit.OWenthemostpopularproponhisprogram.