Is there a liberal media bias, and actually how big could this phenomenon be? You can tune into such programs like, “Rush Limbaugh” and, “The Colbert Report”, shows that clearly show a political bias, but are these biases’ hidden in everyday programs that we the people are un aware of. “Media bias is a perceived notion that certain press has and is pushing a viewpoint, instead of reporting news or airing programs in an objective way.” (“What is media,”) This is the best definition I have come across for media bias, and based off this information, I would say yes definitely this concept exist in media today.
In an interesting journal and study by Tien-Tsung Lee, he states that the Pew Research Center did a survey on whether people believed in a media bias or not. 47% of people who answered the survey stated that yes they believe in a bias in today’s media, 35% disagreed. He also goes on to discuss the difference between skepticism and cynicism in the media today, as well as the political bias’s claimed in the media. In the conclusion, Lee states, “Overall, this study’s findings suggest, if one claims that a media bias exists, the complainant is likely to lean toward the far right on partisan and ideological scales. These extreme positions, along with a cynical attitude, affect one’s evaluation of the news media. As a result, the perception that the media are biased is likely grounded in an observer’s own stance rather than in manifest media content”. (Lee, 2005)
Outside of politics, bias exist in the media today, the Trayvon Martin case presents a perfect example. George Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watch, is being tried for murder of what seems to be in innocent, young, African American male, Bernard Goldberg had brought up some interesting points on an article on his webpage.” If Trayvon Martin had been shot that night by another black teenager there would be have been nothing from president
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Obama, no nationally televised demonstrations, no demands for justice by prominent civil rights leaders, and nobody outside his immediate circle of family and friends would even know his name.”(——–) He then goes on to say that the New York Times referred to Zimmerman as a “White-Hispanic”, his mother being Peruvian, Goldberg insists that the media has made the point that he is a “white” male, and not a person of color.
Bernard Goldberg is currently a commentator for Fox News, according to http://mediatemetrics.wordpress.com, Fox news is a largely republican based bias. (————). With that in mind, how does one feel about Mr. Goldberg’s stance on the matter of Trayvon Martin? Again bias comes into play, and raises the stance on if there is any media that doesn’t contain a side of bias. I believe Mr. Lee stated it perfectly, as the perception of media bias, lies in the observers own stance.
