Bias, frames and the politics of news coverage 1
Media Bias
Framing
McCarthy
Cammaerts et al
Chomsky
‘mass media play ... a propaganda role’; they mobilize bias’ in favour of dominant interests
US foreign policy concerns and media distribution of sympathy for ‘others’
Column inches as an indication of as the importance of any given death
Use of language to organise what we feel/think about a death - blame and sympathy
the degree of viciousness and antagonism with which the majority of the British newspapers have treated Corbyn is deemed to be highly problematic from a democratic perspective.
Certainly democracies need their media to challenge power and offer robust debate, but when this transgresses into an antagonism that undermines legitimate political voices that dare to contest the current status quo, then it is not democracy that is served.
Journalists, and the media in general, would like to be seen as neutral.
In reality, we suggest that the media is anything but neutral. Journalists are not only incentivized to be negatively biased, but by selecting, framing, and analyzing events, even those who want to be neutral will impact their audience’s view of the world.
media intentional and unintentional, impacts
(1) the public agenda
(2) the public perception of risk
(3) the election and the probable outcome of the election
(4) the firm’s and the manager’s reputation
(5) the consumers’ willingness to spend
(6) the firm’s willingness to invest.
Ideological Bias
Problem with Bias
‘Bias’ assumes a notion of ‘truth’, from which biased reports deviate. But can we access or know this ‘truth’?
Language, rather than facts, create our sense of our world
Two statements about the same thing can be true, but the meaning that they convey may be different
Framing is a way for ‘journalists and communicators’ to present complicated or extensive information in a way that is comprehensible and accessible
Framing is where people use ‘information and presentation features’ to influence how we think about political actors and issues
Framing Politics
parliamentary representation determines the ideal of ‘balance’
coverage reflects formal constitution of democracy, but does it reflect the reality of power?
persistent patterns of cognition, interpretations, and presentation, of selection [and] emphasis ... [that are] largely unspoken and unacknowledged ... [and] organize the world for both journalists [and] for those of us who read their reports