Milja Sorvari

This blog post was produced as part of the course “Social Media, Ideologies, and Ethics in the United States” at the University of Turku.

All media play a significant role in today’s political playing field in the U.S. The news, broadcasters, and everyone on social media are part of the system that keeps the political discussion ongoing. While social media has enabled more direct communication amongst people and politicians, it is important to remember the role of journalism. The American Press Institute (2019b) describes the purpose of journalism as informing people of events and issues in the world. Compared to individuals creating content on social media, journalists are more bound by the general rules and ethical guidelines of the professional field. Whether someone believes that these are effective is another question.

Either way, following guidelines and ethical journalism does not guarantee unbiased, non-ideological content. Being able to critically examine the information received from any source is important in understanding whether and how the writer meant to affect you. As the American Press Institute (2019a) also points out, the primary value of journalism is, in fact, the utility to empower. The assumption of that empowerment withholds the thought that the information will eventually affect a reader’s decision. This is a particularly important aspect when considering the news coverage on politics.

While journalism provides information, choosing what kind of information to publish and in what way to present it has an impact. For example, drawing attention to things that cause a strong reaction (perhaps even in one’s own favor) may draw attention away from other topics that might have been more important in supporting a reader’s political decision-making process (such as the personal life of a politician versus the political opinions of a politician).

Biased content is also a part of the issue. 78% of Americans believe that it is never acceptable for a news organization to favor a political party, whereas 14% find it sometimes acceptable (Mitchell, Simmons, Matsa & Silver 2018). I am sure no reader of this blog is unfamiliar with the political division of American news organizations. Research results confirm the situation; 52% of Americans thought that news organizations are not reporting all sides fairly on political issues (Mitchell et al. 2018). The opinions were rather mixed – 47% found news media reporting all sides well (Mitchell et al. 2018) – but considering the alarming amount of people who feel reporting is unfair, there sure is an issue.

Biased content can feed specific opinions to a reader who might have poor media literacy or just agrees to the opinion without questioning it because it supports his or her current views. This can be done by, for example, leaving some aspects out, disregarding all criticism, or even directly attacking and presenting only negative information on the opposing opinions – simply put, by not describing the whole situation so that the reader would more easily be able to form their own opinions of it. Some level of bias is in my opinion acceptable, if it is clear and based on arguments, and information is provided from all relevant aspects and not just the supporting ones.

I do not want to underestimate people’s ability to be critical, but I want to draw attention to how difficult it can be in today’s news and media. The problem that I see in the political bias of U.S. news organizations, or more specifically in the lack of fair reporting on political issues, is that they only present one side of the story. If the reader does not search for information on the topic elsewhere, they only see that one side. This, in turn, can be thought to further contribute to the political polarization of the nation, which will further complicate the actualization of democracy.

Sources:

American Press Institute (2019a) Good stories empower the reader <https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/journalism-essentials/makes-good-story/good-stories-empower-reader/>, retrieved 5.12.2019.

American Press Institute (2019b) What is the purpose of journalism? <https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/journalism-essentials/what-is-journalism/purpose-journalism/>, retrieved 5.12.2019.

Mitchell, Amy – Simmons, Katie – Matsa, Katerina Eva – Silver, Laura (2018) Publics Globally Want Unbiased News Coverage, but Are Divided on Whether Their News Media Deliver. Pew Research Center. <https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2018/01/11/publics-globally-want-unbiased-news-coverage-but-are-divided-on-whether-their-news-media-deliver/#maps>, retrieved 5.12.2019.