Center for News Literacy, Stony Brook University. Adapted for BYU News Literacy.

1. Week 7
Fairness, Balance, & Bias

2. Mark Willes
CEO Deseret Media Company
How to be trusted
voices of light and
knowledge
Thursday, 11:00 a.m.
BRMB Atrium

3. Mark Willes
CEO Deseret Media Company
Extra Credit:
What are the
strengths and
weaknesses of
Deseret Media
Company’s efforts to
promote an
informed ciAzenry?

4. Is the News Media Biased?

5. What the Public Believes
74% say news organizations tend to favor one side in
dealing with political and social issues
Only 18% say they deal fairly well with all sides.
The proportion saying the press favors one side has
jumped 8 % since 2007 and 21% since 1985
-2009survey
Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low

6. What the Public Believes
50% believe the media has a
liberal slant
22% believe the media has a
conservative slant
-Pew Research Center, 2009 survey
Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low

7. No Doubts
“Now, it is common knowledge that the mainstream media
from the major television networks to the country’s most
influential newspapers are biased against the GOP.”

8. No Doubts
"Hosts on Fox raise money
on the air for Republican
candidates, they endorse
them explicitly, they use
their Fox News profile to
headline fundraisers … They
can do that because there's
no rule against that at Fox.
They run as a poliEcal
operaEon, we're not.”
– Rachel Maddow

9. Is there a perception of bias
or is the bias real?

10. Three Questions Today:
• How do we know if a news article is
fair?
• How do we know if a news outlet is
biased?
• What’s the difference between news
media bias and audience bias?

11. What is missing?

12. Balance, Fairness and Bias

13. Balance, Fairness and Bias
What’s Missing?

14. What’s the Difference Between
Fairness and Balance?

15. Key Definitions
Balance: Equality between the totals of the two
(or more) sides of the account. Balance is more
technical; a quantitative measurement.

16. What Is Balance?

17. Can Balance Be the Opposite of
Fairness?
Should Holocaust Deniers Get Equal Space?

18. Is Balance the Same as Fairness?
Should Climate Change Doubters Get Equal Space?

19. Key Definitions
Fairness: Marked by impartiality and honesty.
Free from self-interest, prejudice, or
favoritism. Being fair to the evidence.

20. Finding Fairness:
• Fair play
• Fair language
• Fair presentation

21. Fair play:
• Obvious effort to include
relevant perspectives
• People, Organizations get to
respond to negative charges

22. Fair Play

23. Fair Play In Cases of Serious AllegaAons

24. Fair Play: Avoid Loaded Words
“Right-to-Life” vs. “Anti-Abortion”
“Pro-Choice” vs. “Pro-Abortion”
“Ruthless” vs. “Tough”
“Admitted” vs. “Said”
“Islamic Community Center” vs. “Ground Zero Mosque”

25. Fair Presentation:
Avoids prejudicial photos
Presents photos and other materials
in a neutral way.

26. Fair Presentation:

27. Fair Presentation:

28. Key Definitions
Bias: A predisposition that distorts your ability
to fairly weigh the evidence
and prevents you from reaching
a fair or accurate judgment.

29. Fair, Unfair, or Biased?
School Bus Aide Busted Dealing Methadone

30. The News Literacy Definition:
Bias:
a pattern of unfairness

31. Common Flaws in “Bias” Claims
“The news media is biased” is
an over-generalization. Some outlets, maybe.
Opinion Journalism by an organization doesn’t
necessarily prove there’s slant in the news
coverage.
Guilt by association is a fallacy.

32. Mistake or Bias?

33. Sloppy Reporting or Bias?
Dan Rather and George Bush

34. Opinion or Bias?

35. News Judgment or Bias?
Choosing a story to cover is not de-facto proof of bias.

36. News Judgment or Bias?
Choosing a story to cover is not de-facto proof of bias.

37. News Judgment or Bias?

38. News Judgment or Bias?
Choosing not to cover a story
is not de facto proof of bias

39. Ratings or Bias?
LaToyia Figueroa and Natalee Holloway:
Differences in Coverage

40. The stronger the emotion,
The more likely bias will be charged:
• Politics
• Race and Gender
• Social Issues
• Religion

41. How to Spot Bias
Look for evidence of a pattern
of unfairness over time
Compare a variety of news outlets
especially to search for a bias by omission
Take note of the self-interest
of those alleging bias

42. News Media Bias vs. Audience Bias

43. Cognitive Dissonance:
Democratic Brains vs. Republican Brains
This is Your Brain on Politics

44. Responses to Cognitive Dissonance
Selective Distortion
&
Retention
People tend to distort (or forget)
incoming information if it does not
match their point of view.

45. Responses to Cognitive Dissonance
Source Misattribution
When they do remember sources,
people may selectively attribute
comforting information to a more
respectable source .

46. Responses to Cognitive Dissonance
Confirmation Bias
We tend to pursue information that
only reflects our point of view.

47. Responses to Cognitive Dissonance
Peer Influence on Perception
Our perceptions of things like size or
distance can be impaired by group
pressure.

48. Responses to Cognitive Dissonance

49. News Bias vs. Audience Bias
The War in Lebanon, 1982
Does Being More Informed Guarantee That
You Will Be a Less-Biased News Consumer?

50. “Hostile Media Effect”
• A belief among partisans that
news reports are painting them
in the worst possible light.
The War in Lebanon, 1982
People who are deeply involved in one side of an issue
or another are quicker to spot and remember aspects
of a news story that are negative.
The best-informed partisans are the most likely to see bias.

51. “Hostile Media Effect”
Pew Research Center, 2009
Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low

52. Yeah, Yeah…But What About Bias?
During Obama’s first 100 days in office,
“…positive stories about Obama have
outweighed negative by two-to-one" -- 42 percent
to 20 percent -- while 38 percent were neutral or
mixed.”
-Pew Research.org
(a major media research organization)

53. Since viewers perceive the
media to be biased, can we
infer that the media is, in
fact, biased?

54. Does public perception of
media bias have anything to
do with the fact that liberal
media bias is the focus of
one network’s entire
marketing campaign?

55. Can we infer from the fact
that reporters have
ideological beliefs that their
reporting will reflect these
ideological beliefs?

56. Is it possible, either through
methodological checks and
balances (VIA) or reflective
policing of one’s biases to
combat this bias if it exists?

57. Is Individual Objectivity Realistic?
Is Organizational Objectivity More Realistic?

58. Journalists submit to the discipline of
v erification, a newsroom system of
aggressive peer review and a code of
I
ethics that defines ndependence, and
demands transparency-based
A ccountability.

59. Voters on Income Tax Levels
Since January 2009 have your Federal income taxes:
A) Gone Down
B) Stayed the Same
C) Gone up 86 %

60. Voters on Scientists’ Views of
Climate Change
Do you think that MOST SCIENTISTS believe that:
A) Climate change is occurring
B) Views are evenly divided
C) Climate change is not occurring 45%

61. Misinformation and the Election
The good news: increasing exposure
to news sources decreased
misinformation…
The bad news: in some news sources
higher levels of exposure increased
misinformation

62. Misinformation and the 2010 Election
www.worldpublicopinion.org / University of Maryland Study

63. Misinformation and the Election
Most scientist think that climate
change is not occurring
Fox News Consumers
Rarely 30%
Once a week 45%
Almost everyday 60%

64. Conclusions
Are there examples of unfair news stories?
Absolutely
Is unfairness an automaEc sign of bias?
No
Can a news outlet exhibit bias?
Yes, but it’s hard to prove
Is the percep%on of bias as dangerous as bias itself?
Yes

65. Today’s Key Lessons
of News Literacy:
 Don’t judge the news media on the basis of one
news outlet or story. Don’t judge one outlet on
the basis of one mistake--look for patterns.
 Stay open to information that challenges your
previously-held beliefs and assumptions

66. What are your biases?
Project Implicit

67. Due next time
Opposing viewpoints
1. Choose one of the topics
listed in the instructions
2. Find stories that represent
polar opposing views
3. First read that which most
closely aligns with your views
4. Follow directions for
completing the assignment