Libertarian Librarian

Sometimes the media bias is hit you over the head and is in your face-- as with the treatment of Bill Bennett, who said something very poorly, live on the radio, but who is not advocating the aborting of all black people. Indeed, Bennett is philosophically opposed to any and all abortions. Yet the context of Bennett's statement is lost because the media wishes to portray what he said as something other than what was intended.

And then sometimes media bias is much subtler. Denunciations of Justice Roberts by Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden get front page coverage, while words of support for Roberts by people like Russ Feingold-- anything but a neocon hack-- are buried on page 7 or the like. Where the news is located on, and within, the newpaper can be a very influential factor on whether it gets read or not. Even more subtle is to present one side of a story (usually the liberal side) in the first 5-10 paragraphs, and then present the other side later on in the piece. True, both sides are equally represented-- but most newspaper readers only read the first 5-10 paragraphs, especially when the latter parts of the article are on a different page. So one viewpoint gets far more exposure to readers than does the other.

Finally, let's go back to context-- this time in a more subtle manner than in the first example. Quite often these day, it seems that the media reports things that are true as far as they go... but they don't give you all the details you need to determine if what you have been shown is the whole truth. So, when anti-war protesters get several thousand people to show up, it's a major rally (it is), and the country is clearly turning against the war. But, if you are also told that protesters expected in excess of 100,000 people, and nearly as many folks in favor of continuing to support the Iraqis turned up in addition to the protesters, the "tide is turning" perspective isn't quite so clear cut. Especially when you add it the greater money, organization and lead time the protesters had over the counter protesters. Or, if you're the media, you can just do this.

And while you're checking out the importance of context, do check out the gallery of protest pictures. Quite interesting. Though, of course, you should bear in mind that the photographer is clearly a supporter of the war, and thus factor that bias into your reactions to the pictures.