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I'm still waiting to see the investigation of Dan Rather's other reports.

The Comical is always good for a laugh.

All Casey did was show how the left has a history of using their position in the media to lie to the masses.

1 posted on 06/05/2005 7:18:09 PM PDT by weegee
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To: weegee

Detecting Bias in the News


At one time or another we all complain about "bias in the news." The fact is, despite the journalistic ideal of "objectivity," every news story is influenced by the attitudes and background of its interviewers, writers, photographers and editors.

Not all bias is deliberate. But you can become a more aware news reader or viewer by watching for the following journalistic techniques that allow bias to "creep in" to the news:

1. Bias through selection and omission

An editor can express a bias by choosing to use or not to use a specific news item. Within a given story, some details can be ignored, and others included, to give readers or viewers a different opinion about the events reported. If, during a speech, a few people boo, the reaction can be described as "remarks greeted by jeers" or they can be ignored as "a handful of dissidents."

Bias through omission is difficult to detect. Only by comparing news reports from a wide variety of outlets can this form of bias be observed.


2. Bias through placement

Readers of papers judge first page stories to be more significant than those buried in the back. Television and radio newscasts run the most important stories first and leave the less significant for later. Where a story is placed, therefore, influences what a reader or viewer thinks about its importance.


3. Bias by headline

Many people read only the headlines of a news item. Most people scan nearly all the headlines in a newspaper. Headlines are the most-read part of a paper. They can summarize as well as present carefully hidden bias and prejudices. They can convey excitement where little exists. They can express approval or condemnation.


4. Bias by photos, captions and camera angles

Some pictures flatter a person, others make the person look unpleasant. A paper can choose photos to influence opinion about, for example, a candidate for election. On television, the choice of which visual images to display is extremely important. The captions newspapers run below photos are also potential sources of bias.


5. Bias through use of names and titles

News media often use labels and titles to describe people, places, and events. A person can be called an "ex-con" or be referred to as someone who "served time twenty years ago for a minor offense." Whether a person is described as a "terrorist" or a "freedom fighter" is a clear indication of editorial bias.


6. Bias through statistics and crowd counts

To make a disaster seem more spectacular (and therefore worthy of reading about), numbers can be inflated. "A hundred injured in aircrash" can be the same as "only minor injuries in air crash," reflecting the opinion of the person doing the counting.


7. Bias by source control

To detect bias, always consider where the news item "comes from." Is the information supplied by a reporter, an eyewitness, police or fire officials, executives, or elected or appointed government officials? Each may have a particular bias that is introduced into the story. Companies and public relations directors supply news outlets with puffpieces through news releases, photos or videos. Often news outlets depend on pseudo-events (demonstrations, sit-ins, ribbon cuttings, speeches and ceremonies) that take place mainly to gain news coverage.


8. Word choice and tone

Showing the same kind of bias that appears in headlines, the use of positive or negative words or words with a particular connotation can strongly influence the reader or viewer.

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/crime/detecting_bias_news.cfm


2 posted on 06/05/2005 7:36:18 PM PDT by Tai_Chung
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To: weegee
And yet we are treated to the travesty of watching Dan Rather and his producer-enabler Mary Mapes receive a Peabody Award for "journalistic excellence" aka the "Pravda Prize." As I have previously posted, Rather belongs in a jail cell for attempting to affect the outcome of a Federal election through fraud and artifice.
3 posted on 06/05/2005 7:38:25 PM PDT by Che Chihuahua (Is a former domestic terrorist (specifically a former KKK grand dragon) fit to serve in the Senate?)
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To: weegee

Yeah, but he also pointed out serious wrongdoing in a big-city crime lab. Sending some guy to prison based on manufactured evidence is a worse crime than Janet Cook's invention of an imaginary drug addict. Fictional characters can't sue, yes, but they also can't have their lives ruined.


4 posted on 06/05/2005 7:40:33 PM PDT by Nick5
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To: weegee

"When reporters make up stories, they are almost always feel-good stories."

Well, if your favored ideology states that America is the root of all evil, and hearing made-up stories that back up that belief makes you feel better, then sure, I guess you could call them "feel-good stories".

Qwinn


6 posted on 06/05/2005 7:41:46 PM PDT by Qwinn
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To: weegee

All that must me remembered is that the MSM is primarily an entertainment venture and is used to generate revenue via advertising fees.

Is it any wonder that they lie through their teeth?


12 posted on 06/05/2005 7:55:56 PM PDT by clee1 (We use 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 2 to pull a trigger. I'm lazy and I'm tired of smiling.)
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To: weegee

Yeah don't you just love the way they litter your lawn with freebees.


13 posted on 06/05/2005 7:56:41 PM PDT by marty60
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