J201Lecture: Evaluating journalism for “bias”Recent charges of “liberal bias” have a long history•Spiro Agnew’s “nattering nabobs of negativity”•Richard Nixon cuts funding to “elitist” PBS•array of different activist groups, from the “moral majority” to “religious right” to “Christian conservatives” during the Reagan years•“culture wars” during Clinton yearsOrganizations which argue that the media have a “liberal bias”•Media Research Center (www.mediaresearch.org)•Accuracy in Media (www.aim.org)•Citizens Coalition for Responsible Media (www.fairpress.org)Recent charges of “conservative bias” also have a long history•Government lies from Vietnam and Watergate •Conservative think tanks sponsoring campus news•FCC abandons the “Fairness Doctrine” in 1980s•Increasing conglomeration and concentration of media through the 1990sOrganizations which argue that the media have a “conservative bias”•Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (www.fair.org)•Media Transparency (mediatransparency.org)•Project Censored (www.projectcensored.org)But “liberal bias” vs. “conservative bias” is the wrong argument to have•We conflate “liberal” with “Democrat” and “conservative” with “Republican”•Many beliefs, like religion or environmentalism, defy categorization as either “liberal” or “conservative”•We ignore the variations like “fiscally conservative but socially liberal” •Most people, when asked, say they are “moderate”!•Terms “liberal” and “conservative” are themselves biased (and change dramatically over time)results in our class•political compass: 81% identified as “left, libertarian,” and 7% as “right, authoritarian”•voting choice: 70% voted for Kerry, 30% for BushWhat we should be asking:•How do we define “good journalism”?•What factors contribute to the quality of journalism?•What should you do when you find “bad journalism”?What do we mean by “good journalism”?What do we mean by “good journalism”?production ethics•news produced behind a solid “wall between editorial and advertising” or news produced as “complimentary copy”?•news produced with or without deception of sources?•news produced with or without anonymity of sources?•news produced in-house or purchased secondhand?•news produced through investigative reporting or through expert interview?•news produced in reaction to official events or in analysis of unobserved trends?What do we mean by “good journalism”?news agenda•“informative” stories that make us better citizens & consumers, or “entertaining” stories that draw us in and keep us watching?•“diverse” stories that expose us to new and/or disturbing ideas, or “targeted” stories that reinforce our preexisting views?•“muckraking” stories that watchdog actions of powerful groups, or “stenography” stories that replay views of powerful groups?•“sensational” stories that bring in lots of revenue, or “eat your peas” stories that most people ignore?What do we mean by “good journalism”?truth value•“objective” stories based on evidence or “opinion” pieces based on ideology?•“fair” stories accurately portraying diverse POV or “slanted” stories misrepresenting all but one POV?•“balanced” stories including all possible POV or “representative” stories indicating majority/minority POV?•“analytical” stories to explain and evaluate evidence for the reader, or “raw” stories to provide the latest unedited details of events?What do we mean by “good journalism”?marketplace success•In the “marketplace of ideas,” is the best journalism that which is approved by the largest audience?•In the “economic marketplace,” is the best journalism that which results in the greatest revenue or profit?What factors might contribute to the quality of journalism?What factors might contribute to the quality of journalism?•time and space constraints(news hole, news cycle, audience attention span)•presentation style(“edgy,” sensational, accessible)•revenue stream(public, subscription, advertising)What factors might contribute to the quality of journalism?•structure of the news organization (number of reporters, number of bureaus)•process of news gathering (procedures for sourcing, verifying, editing)•characteristics of news personnel(demographics, psychographics, geographics)•characteristics of news audience(demographics, psychographics, geographics)What factors might contribute to the quality of journalism?•ownership(family-owned, shareholder-owned, conglomerate)•stated partisan project or ideals(“liberal,” “conservative,” etc.)•unstated influence or affiliation(Democratic, Republican, labor, management, etc.)What should you do when you find “bad” journalism?What should you do when you find “bad” journalism?•Consider scale: one article? one journalist? one newspaper? one media company? or all media?•Consider history: a pattern, or an isolated incident?•Consider intent: was mistake accidental? avoidable?•Consider effects: who stands to gain from mistake?•Consider yourself: do you harbor any
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