Bias In the Media

Bias in Media

Open Mic Week #1:  Ed 7718

So how are all narratives affected by bias and perspective and how can the power of media influence perception? Can teachers make students aware of bias so they can effectively make their own judgements?

I believe these questions are hard to answer.  I feel all narratives have a form of a bias.  It is the hardest part of writing, speaking, and listening to be unbiased.  Media is usually looking for stories depending on what the public wants to hear. However, media is such a big influence on the public eye and beliefs.  For example, channel 3 promotes call us and we have your back.  Are they looking for a story and great promotion techniques or do they really want to help the community?  Would they cover a story if they knew it was wrong? Because the media does hold such bias opinions, one wants the attention of the media.  One goal as a teacher is to teach our students how to research certain credible sources.  It is essential to look at the types of sources and information provided.  If it seems like an opinion, it probably is.  One way teachers can accomplish this is by showing their students the importance of research.  Look at a variety of sources  to find at least a couple who state similar things.  Another way to help the students decipher through bias in the media is providing them with the knowledge to distinguish credible sources.  For example, wikipedia has a lot of bias writing on it.  It is an easy way to provide your thoughts and knowledge about a topic without any required background.  This is also true of personal position pieces.  However, there are sources out there more credible. It is important for teachers to help their students understand this.  It is also important for the students to understand that just because it is in the news doesn't make it true.  More facts  and sources are necessary to eliminate the bias.

Recently, there have been various examples of bias in the media.  For example Adrian Peterson was in the media because  he used a "switch"  to discipline his son.  To him, it is seen as cultural differences which is where the title came from, “Adrian’s Peterson’s Actions Reflective of Cultural Differences”.  To many readers, hopefully Peterson understands the old school is just that, old. Those days are thankfully gone. But perhaps this incident will teach us that not everyone grew up the same.  The narrative appears to take believe Peterson was in the wrong.  The article stated numerous times of him seen as a child abuser.  In most cases, people may not see him as a child abuser but a possible wrongful way to discipline you child.  After reading the article, people may now see him as a child abuser. In another source, the name alone can put pre notions into your head before listening to the video. The danger of a single story is from the point of view of the a woman.  She talked about reading only one sources and how our perceptions can change based on the source. Does it make it more credible because she went through it? She talked about herself when she was younger reading stories of white children, eating apples, and playing in the snow. She states, “how vulnerable we are in the face of a story”. It is true.  Especially as a child we associate things with what we read and see in the media.  The speaker said she finally found books that associated with her identity.  I believe she was trying to portray the message that there isn't just one story to everything.  Cultures, stories, and identities are enriched through a variety of stories.  Can we beware of “reading” only one story.  Should we get different points of view? Media shows the way we have to act and feel.  Another story that brought a lot of controversy was Ray Rice.  The article discussed the controversy around Ray Rice and his girl friend.  The article suggests if there were no videos he would not have be suspended by the NFL.  Like many media sources out there , the article appears to be a  position statement.  By broadcasting the video of Ray Rice, did  it help bring video coverage to bring justice to Ray Rice?  Lastly, the article about Ferguson’s coverage actually grades the media coverage on accuracy. It is unusual to see articles like this.  The article critiqued the process in which Ferguson was covered including the actions of the media itself.

In conclusion ,I believe, bias in the media is a complicated conversation to have.  There are many things in the media to create more viewers.  Is it a true story or is it only one side.  Media has a big influence on our perceptions.  Based on how to media portrays the story determines the outcome of the public.  Sometimes they can be good and sometimes it can hurt us.  It is our job as teachers to try and relay the importance of bias in the media to our students.  But then again, can we deny the fact that all teachers use a bias at some point in our teaching?