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Ryan Thompson
Mrs. DeBock
10 November 2016
English 4
Media Bias: A Growing Trend
All forms of publications have some form of bias behind them. Whether it is in the
political arena or dealing with a racial issue, people carry opinions with them from birth that
affect their lives on a daily basis. A major problem in the world, however, is that the places that
people turn to for news and important information project a biased viewpoint to their audience.
With media bias in all forms of big media, society is heavily influenced into believing other
peoples ideas when it comes to important issues. The broadcast media industry is owned by a
few major companies with multiple news networks to promote their agenda. A distrust with the
media is spreading through the country that is causing sectionalism and a division in our nation.
Due to the growing rate of bias in the media, the publics free will is being attacked with every
passing day and the diversity that makes America the melting pot of cultures is diminishing.
To understand the problem of media bias, one must first understand what bias truly is.
Bias is defined as a subtle prejudice that appears in informational that claims to be purposeful
(Aliprandini and Flynn 1). The media is known for telling the public how to feel and when to feel
it, without a reason why. Different forms of mass media include: radio talk shows, editorials,
newspapers, columns, and commercials. There lies a plethora of consequences of media bias
such as: stopping the public from making informed decisions on key issues, including opinions
that may conflict with the welfare of the general public, a distrust of the mass media and an
unconcern for matters of the public, failure to report political messages with provocative

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consequences, and withholding of important information that supports the opposing viewpoints
(Aliprandini and Flynn 1). This creates an uninformed public that makes rash and careless
decisions, which are exemplified by current news stories. Bias is not some new trend in media, it
has been alive and well since our nations beginning. Without bias, the fight for independence is
likely to not have happened due to the overwhelming majority of America being loyal to Britain,
but with enough circulation of patriot newspapers, people realized they to wanted to fight. This
shows that not every form of bias has been negative throughout history, yet bias has still been
prevalent in expressing viewpoints to change stances on certain issues. Adolf Hitler once said, If
you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed. This quote reflects our
society today with false reports in major news magazines about issues stretching from celebrities
to politics that are completely false, but if the general public views it enough, they will soon
think of it as true, even if it is the farthest from it.
Current news stories that are affected by media bias are police brutality and the election.
A large amount of the American population turns to newspapers everyday for up to date
information on current news stories. This, however, allows for columnists and editors to easily
persuade and influence public opinion on certain issues. The problem with this is, most
newspapers in America tend to fall to the right; they are usually conservative in their viewpoints
(Media Matters for America 1). This is an important issue because with the current election,
newspapers have the power to promote or defile a candidate based on the columnists point of
view. Julian Zelizer, a writer for CNN.com from their aritcle Do Facts Matter? posted on
October 16, 2012, "The public lives in a world where it seems impossible to know what is fact
and what is partisan fiction."This quote shows, especially in election times, that it is hard for the
general public to differentiate truth from lies. A hot topic in the news today is police brutality,

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and police departments across the country feel as though they have been negatively projected.
Police have complained that the media is only focusing on the negative aspects of their job rather
than the positive parts that police all across the country do. (Guarino 1). The problem is the
media does not cover both sides of the argument and can only show so much, leaving out
important details that can incriminate the police. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott discuss that
the general media trend is to fact check all speeches, debates, news reportings and that over
60% of Americans said they have little to no trust in mass media to report the news fully,
accurately, and fairly (Introduction to Mass Media: Opposing Viewpoints 1). This reveals a sad
statistic that Americans are no longer able to trust where they get their news from. The media has
the power to change how people view specific issues in the news and can alter the truth in order
to promote their ideology and agenda. Influencing the public was an issue even in the early
history of our country that politicians were worried about because the masses of America are
uneducated and will follow the media blindly.
Another issue is media ownership; the majority of media is owned by the same few
companies that control major news networks. This presents a problem because the sources of
societys news and entertainment are all owned by the same individuals therefore they have a
large influence on the opinions of their viewers. The Project for Excellence in Journalism
accounts that 22 companies own 70 percent of daily newspapers and 10 companies own 30
percent of the nations television stations, whose signals reach 85 percent of American
households (Ruschmann and Hudson, Jr. 1). The amount of media space owned by companies
has lowered journalistic standards, made debating quality decline, and snubbed out the voice on
unpopular views. When a monopoly on the ownership of media exists, the amount of information
released is decreased and threatens multiple factions from forming. In recent years, Americans

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have become concerned with the government interference into media. Focusing on the important
decisions, people need to be exposed to a wide variety of viewpoints with different perspectives
instead of one view that does not change. Journalists have started to alter their articles in a way
to please their editors and bosses, which in one way, ruins their freedom of speech and ability to
voice their own opinions against what is expected (Parrish 1). Historically, the media was
extremely biased in order to persuade everyone to fight for freedom, but now it has turned into
fight against one another.
Media bias is a growing trend and with every passing moment ideas are changed, lies are
spread, and the truth is tarnished. The media is controlled by a handful of companies that control
how the general population feels. A change must occur in order to protect societys free will and
to not alter public opinion. Innocent people have their images damaged by the media and the
public believes lies without looking for extra evidence. As a public with freedom of press and
speech, the right to unbiased broadcasting should be implied, yet it is not. The nation deserves
better than what it is presented by the press. The difference would be extraordinary and would
allow for a nonpartisan point of view that would enable the public to form their own opinions
and make decisive, well informed decisions instead of hasty mistakes. Although it is a cancer on
our country, media bias will always last because every form of journalism has some form of bias
that inspired it to be written and even if our nation does not always see eye to eye, that is what
makes us a democracy.
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Works Cited
Aliprandini, Michael, and Simone Isadora Flynn. "Media Bias: An Overview." Points Of
View: Media Bias (2016): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Guarino, Mark. "Media bias against police? Some PDs take matters into their own
hands." Christian Science Monitor 10 Mar. 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web.
27 Oct. 2016.

"Introduction to Mass Media: Opposing Viewpoints." Mass Media. Ed. Margaret Haerens and
Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

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Media Matters for America. "Conservative Media Bias Is a Serious Problem." Mass
Media. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt.
from "Black and White and Re(a)d All Over: The Conservative Advantage in Syndicated
Op-Ed Columns." 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Parrish, Ann. "Counterpoint: Freedom And The Media." Points Of View: Media Bias (2016): 6.
Points of View Reference Center. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

Ruschmann, Paul, and David L. Hudson, Jr. Media Bias. Second ed. Philadelphia: Chelsea
House, 2006. Print.