more biased?

AS A RESULT OF TECHNOLOGY and increased access to information, many have noted and heavily critiqued the amount of political bias within journalism and its recent rise. However, the increase in bias within news sources is an illusion, as it has been prevalent for many decades. The sole change is recently polarizing events, which is making it easier to recognize the biases these supposedly reputable sources have always held.

“I think the general public is aware of journalism bias, but it’s not something that’s talked about often because I feel like no one cares,” freshman Avril Donner said.

COMMENTARY BY FRANCESCA RICO, STAFF WRITER

“For people that agree with the views of the journalist, seeing their bias won’t make them think badly of the work.”

Journalism bias can be found as far back as the 1890s, when U.S. newspapers spread false information through blaming the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine on the nation of Spain, leading to the Spanish-American War, according to the Public Broadcasting Service. Similarly, during the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Fox News’s opinion segment hosts avoided addressing how misinformation spread about the legitimacy of the 2020 Presidential election results largely led to these riots, according to The Washington Post. It is clear that bias has always gotten in the way of factual reporting, as news outlets have sensationalized historical events for over a century.

“Bias affects journalism because you’re not getting straightforward information, you’re just getting sides and opinions rather than facts,” sophomore Maxie Nolet said. Liberal news outlets, such as MSNBC, have consistently sustained bias. According to a study conducted by Pew Research Center in 2012, 85% of MSNBC’s broadcast was allocated to “opinion” rather than just news, which MSNBC is thought to provide as it is advertised as a news outlet. Moreover, the report explains that for every single positive story MSNBC reported about 2012 Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, 23 negative ones were written by them during his campaign. MSNBC’s biases did not skyrocket in the last decade, but rather remained very liberal. Bias has been an established issue before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, thus overflowing bias in journalism is not a new concept.

“Ithink journalism bias gives a one-sided story which doesn’t allow people to see or hear about other perspectives,” junior Stephanie Morales said.

Fox News’s bias can also be found at its origins. The network was created in 1996 to stand as a cable news source offering opposing perspectives from that of CNN, which was liberal-leaning, according to The Washington Post. Therefore, Fox News started out as a conservative network, with strong ties to Republican leaders that influence the content they produce. Thus, bias has not increased, but has remained a constant and dominant force in the news industry.

Political bias in journalism has been prominent prior to recent polarizing events and the rise of social media. This is an ongoing issue woven into the core of journalism for centuries. The solution to this is not to recognize a nonexistent increase in bias, but rather to acknowledge its origins and lifespan in order to dismantle it.