Bias by
omission – leaving one side out of an
article, or a series of articles over a period of time; ignoring facts
that tend to disprove liberal or conservative claims, or that support
liberal or conservative beliefs; bias by omission can occur either
within a story, or over the long term as a particular news outlet
reports one set of events, but not another. To find instances of bias
by omission, be aware of the conservative and liberal perspectives on
current issues. See if both the conservative and liberal perspectives
are included in stories on a particular event or policy.
Bias by
selection of sources –
including more sources that support one view over another. This bias
can also be seen when a reporter uses such phrases as “experts believe”,
“observers say,” or “most people believe”. Experts in news stories are
like expert witnesses in trials. If you know whether the defense or
the prosecution called a particular expert witness to the stand, you
know which way the witness will testify. And when a news story only
presents one side, it is obviously the side the reporter supports.
(Journalists often go looking for quotes to fit their favorite argument
into a news story.) To find bias by use of experts or sources, stay
alert to the affiliations and political perspective of those quoted as
experts or authorities in news stories. Not all stories will include
experts, but in those that do, make sure about an equal number of
conservatives and liberals are quoted. If a story quotes non-experts,
such as those portrayed as average citizens, check to be sure that about
an equal number come from both sides of the issue in question.
Bias by
story selection – a
pattern of highlighting news stories that coincide with the agenda of
either the Left or the Right, while ignoring stories that coincide with
the opposing view; printing a story or study released by a liberal or
conservative group but ignoring studies on the same or similar topics
released by the opposing group. To identify bias by story selection
you’ll need to know the conservative and liberal sides of the issue.
See how much coverage conservative issues get compared to issues on the
liberal agenda, or liberals compared to conservatives. For example, if a
liberal group puts out a study proving a liberal point, look at how
much coverage it got compared to a conservative study issued a few days
or weeks earlier, or vice versa. If charges of impropriety are leveled
at two politicians of approximately equal power, one liberal and one
conservative, compare the amount of coverage given to each.
Bias by
placement – Story
placement is a measure of how important the editor considers the story.
Studies have shown that, in the case of the average newspaper reader
and the average news story, most people read only the headline. Bias by
placement is where in the paper or in an article a story or event is
printed; a pattern of placing news stories so as to downplay information
supportive of either conservative views or liberal views. To locate
examples of bias by placement, observe where a newspaper places
political stories. Or whenever you read a story, see how far into the
story each viewpoint first appears. In a fair and balanced story, the
reporter would quote or summarize the liberal and conservative view at
about the same place in the story. If not, you’ve found bias by
placement.
Bias by
labeling — Bias by
labeling comes in two forms. The first is the tagging of conservative
politicians and groups with extreme labels while leaving liberal
politicians and groups unlabeled or with more mild labels, or vice
versa. The second kind of bias by labeling occurs when a reporter not
only fails to identify a liberal as a liberal or a conservative as a
conservative, but describes the person or group with positive labels,
such as “an expert” or “independent consumer group”. In so doing, the
reporter imparts an air of authority that the source does not deserve.
If the “expert” is properly called a “conservative” or a “liberal” the
news consumer can take that ideological slant into account when
evaluating the accuracy of an assertion. When looking for bias by
labeling, remember that not all labeling is biased or wrong. Bias by
labeling is present when the story labels the conservative but not the
liberal, or the liberal but not the conservative; when the story uses
more extreme sounding labels for the conservative than the liberal
(“ultra-conservative”, “far right”, but just “liberal” instead of “far
left” and “ultra-liberal”) or for the liberal than the conservative
(“ultra-liberal”, “far left”, but just “conservative” instead of “far
right” and “ultra-conservative ; and when the story misleadingly
identifies a liberal or conservative official or group as an expert or
independent watchdog organization.
Bias by
spin – Bias by spin
occurs when the story has only one interpretation of an event or policy,
to the exclusion of the other; spin involves tone – it’s a reporter’s
subjective comments about objective facts; makes one side’s ideological
perspective look better than another. To check if it’s spin, observe
which interpretation of an event or policy a news story matches – the
liberal or conservative. Many news stories do not reflect a particular
spin. Others summarize the spin put on an event by both sides. But if a
story reflects one to the exclusion of the other, then you’ve found
bias by spin.
The above information is excerpted and adapted from How to Identify Liberal Media Bias by Brent H. Baker, Vice President for Research and Publications at Media Research Center.
