The media is everywhere today. It is the primary news source, as well as the primary way we are shown the new and latest items on the market. It is easy to accept the information we are given at first glance without doing any outside research. However, this approach can be harmful because the media is sometimes biased. Political unrest all over the world is often reported in a biased manner at the news station’s discretion. Other news reports are often altered or tailored based on the station’s sponsors. Meanwhile many advertisements run in between these new segments are not only aimed at target audiences, but shape how we feel about one another and ourselves. When concerning the media, it is always important to do one’s own research because the media is often biased.
Today’s world is more culturally diverse than ever before. We are more connected and know more about one another’s background than man ever thought possible. While this could have been an opportunity for growth and acceptance, some news stations turn it into an opportunity for fear mongering. According to “Outrageous Political Opinion and Political Anxiety in the U.S.,” the United States is one of the most unsettled countries concerning politics and it is due mostly in part to the media . Twenty-four hour news stations have segregated themselves into exclusive political parties, reporting only the sides of the story that further the station’s political agenda. If Fox News makes a report, it is likely women, minorities, or immigrants will be at fault for whatever is going wrong because Fox News is a nationally known Republican news station and stereotypically, those are the groups Republicans target . Stations that take a more liberal view, such as CNN, will most likely report stories making Republicans look old-fashioned, unrelenting, and sinister, as they paint everybody in the welfare class as a victim . News stations pick which side to take and manipulate the facts to cater to their audience. The fact is some minorities are at fault, but not everybody in the welfare class is a victim. Many Republicans are against women’s rights, but some Democrats are too. The vast majority of viewers subscribing to either party do not want to hear facts that undermine their stereotypical views, however, and so they are not reported. Therefore, many news broadcasts are so misconstrued that even if an individual watched every news station they still would not get the full story. It is important to do independent research.
Other news stories, completely unrelated to any political agenda, may also be manipulated by the media for other reasons. Anybody who watches television knows there are many commercials in between each segment. The commercials are inserted into television shows and news broadcasts because of sponsorship. Sponsors buy airtime, and the television shows use the money in order to help produce their show. However, many times these sponsors become unspoken co-producers, especially when concerning nightly news broadcasts. For example, beginning in 2009, several state health boards around the country began noticing the country’s obesity problem could be cut nearly in half if a soda tax was introduced, among other dietary changes . Many U.S citizens began to wonder how big the impact was that sugary soda had on their daily diets. Research teams were formed and reports began to appear on the nightly news in 2011 and 2012. Much to the surprise and delight of the public, several of the reports found that sugary, fructose corn syrup loaded soda and a minimal impact on the average citizens daily diet; Americans once again began consuming the beverage at an alarming rate . It was later discovered that there was a media bias embedded in the reports that advised citizens sugary soda was not that bad. The networks who allowed these reports to be aired were running advertisements for soda companies regularly; companies such as Pepsi and Coca Cola were not only their sponsors, but also their co-producers . If the material about soda being bad for citizens had aired, sales would have dropped and the soda companies would have quit sponsoring the stations. The stations willing created biased reports in order to make more money, once again proving independent research is important.
Sponsors can sometimes force networks into lying, but the advertisements themselves are also suspect. “Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel,” advises that with every flashy promise made by an advertisement, there are at least three embedded lies . It is easy for advertisements to lie because they know when to air. Beauty and hair care will air during shows typically watched by women, while advertisements to sign up for the National Guard will be shown during a Fox News broadcast. Many promises are made during these advertisements. Whether its shinier hair from a new hair conditioner or a free college education courtesy of the National Guard, there is always fine print that is not included . The advertisement will not express the conditioner was tested on rabbits before it was put on the market, nor will it tell you joining the National Guard may kill you. The media is biased for the sake of making money, and independent research is crucial.
In sum, while the media can be a crucial tool for learning, it can also be bad to rely on it completely. News stations depend on fear mongering, catering to their audience in an attempt to widen their fan base. Reports often give information based only on the discretion of producers. Sometimes the producers are against giving all of the information, or even the correct information. Advertisements paint products and service in a good light in order to make money; they will not give all of the information. Ultimately, every aspect of the media is biased and in order to be truly informed, we must seek independent information. To rely only on the biased information would be an injustice to ourselves and those we give information to.
References
Bes-Rostrallo, Maira, et al. "Financial Conflicts of Interest and Reporting Bias Regarding the Association between Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Weight Gain: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews ." Public Library of Science: Medicine (2013): 35-42. Article.
Kilbourne, Jean. Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. Chicago: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Book.
Sobeiraj, Sarah, Jeffery M Berry and Amy Connors. "Outrageous political opinion and political anxiety in the US." Poetics (2013): 407-432. Article.
