Who is Right?

So how can we know who is actually telling the truth in the media?  Just because two different media outlet may be reporting on the same story, it doesn’t mean that you will be getting the same information.  To see how different the same news story can be reported differently, I looked at three different news outlets reporting about a car bombing in Iraq.  I looked at three articles reporting on a car bombing in Iraq.  One article from Fox News, CNN, and Al Jazeera.  For starters, all of the headlines had a different point they were trying to get across: “Car bombings kill at least 31 people in Iraq,” “11 killed in twin suicide bombings in Iraq; ISIS claims responsibility,” and “Iraqi PM calls for arrest of parliament protesters.”  Fox and CNN headline that the death toll is the most important thing, while Al Jazeera’s headline calls for the arrest of protesters.  Al Jazeera talks about the political side first before they even mention the bombings, while the American stations focus on the bombing and who is responsible.

So how do we know which news outlet provides the most accurate story?  All of the reports are going to be biased.  The American stations are going to be bias towards American ways of thinking, so chances are we will most likely think they hold the truth.  Al Jazeera has a different perspective on the story that we may not be used to, but that does not make it wrong.  The journalists write what people will read.  They are writing for an audience and they set an agenda for what they want to accomplish with a story.  It really all comes down to the individual to sort through and figure out what they think is true and what is not in the media.

Fox News Article: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/05/01/car-bombings-kill-at-least-18-people-in-iraq.html?intcmp=hpbt1

CNN Article: http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/01/middleeast/iraq-violence/index.html

Al Jazeera Article: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/iraq-parliament-protest-160501113125486.html

Media Bias

Whether we want to admit it or not, the media controls a lot.  They control what is put in the news and what is the top story we will here most about.  The media also gets to control how they present the story and ultimately tell us what to think about.  They play a big part in conflict too.  They can either make conflict worse or help resolve it.  The media can present a story in a way that can actually increase the problem, especially when it comes to violent conflicts.  This article from mediasupport.org, discusses how the media is involved with conflict and the impact it can have on conflict.  The media has so much power in how they present the material and the reaction they think the audience will have.

So is the media biased?  We really get to see media bias when it comes to presidential elections.  Because Fox is a more conservative station, they show conservative candidates in a more positive light, while casting a negative light on the liberals.  That goes the same for liberal TV networks highlighting the candidates they favor.  In this article from the Washington Post, they argue that there is media bias, but left and right leaning media outlets balance each other.  It says that people are just becoming more aware so they think that there is a sudden rise in media bias.  We can all agree that each media outlet will lean one way or the other, but we need to be aware of the information we are being feed and need to interpret it on our own.  The media may tell us what to think about, but it shouldn’t tell us how to think.