Chapter 7: The News Media and the Internet

1.       Does objectivity still exist in the media's coverage of politics?  Of the major news outlets (CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, NPR, NBC, etc.), which are the most objective and which seem to have the most bias?

The press claims to be objective, but even when selecting what stories to cover the press influences public opinion and bias may be inevitable. Washington Post columnist David Broder admits that “the process of selecting what the reader reads involves not just objective facts, but subjective judgments, personal values, and yes, prejudices”. A Gallup Poll measuring public’s belief about ideological bias in the news media indicates that about half the public believes the news media have liberal bias. Bias is evident, for example, in what news stations decide to cover. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Republican nominee John McCain was giving a speech, and in the middle of it Barack Obama secured the delegates that gave him the official Democratic nomination. While MSNBC broke away from McCain’s speech to announce this development, Fox News flashed the information on the lower part of the screen, but continued to cover McCain’s speech. As mentioned in Chapter 7, it is fair to conclude that individually, news outlets are biased, but collectively, the media provide a full range of ideological viewpoints.

 

2.       How does talk radio (Rush Limbaugh, Keith Olbermann, etc.) affect your view of politics?  Why?

In 2008, most of the 50 million Americans who listened to talk radio listened to conservative programs. In 2007, conservatives hosted 91 percent of programming hours, while liberals hosted just 9 percent. Over 90 percent of stations do not even broadcast progressive, or liberal, talk radio. I do not listen to talk radio, merely because of the fear of falling asleep at the wheel, but considering these statistics it appears that a person who did may lean toward the conservative side of the fence. It seems that by listening to talk radio a person may be persuaded to think more conservatively, since that opinion is what dominates the radio media. If the station allows for listener participation, such as taking calls on air, they take a chance on allowing their audience to be misinformed by a person who may not know what they are talking about or who speaks merely on opinion instead of facts. With this in mind, talk radio seems a little “iffy” to me.

 

3.       Is media objectivity important?  Why or why not?

In my opinion, media objectivity is extremely important. When any type of media, whether it is the internet, television, radio, etc., publishes a story, it is seen by hundreds and thousands of people. If that story contained opinions or loaded statements that could persuade the reader to take one side over the other, it isn’t fair. I believe the media should take as much of a neutral and fact-based view as possible and let the readers or listeners form their own judgment. If the public is misinformed it could lead to misguided votes, and misguided votes could lead to destruction.