University of Kwazulu-Natal

Understanding Bias Meters In Journalism Societal Perspectives

Bonisiwe Shabane
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understanding bias meters in journalism societal perspectives

Sarah Lee AI generated Llama-4-Maverick-17B-128E-Instruct-FP8 6 min read · May 26, 2025 In today's complex media landscape, understanding and addressing media bias is crucial for promoting diverse perspectives in journalism. Media bias can significantly impact public opinion, influence democratic processes, and affect marginalized communities. This comprehensive guide will explore the definition, causes, and consequences of media bias, as well as strategies for recognizing and addressing bias in reporting. Media bias refers to the perceived or actual slant in the presentation of news, information, or entertainment that reflects a particular ideology, perspective, or agenda. There are several types of media bias, including:

The following diagram illustrates the different types of media bias: Media bias has been a persistent issue throughout history, with various factors contributing to its evolution. The rise of mass media in the 20th century led to increased concerns about media bias, particularly with the emergence of 24-hour news cycles and the proliferation of cable television. By Delphine Gardiner, Amir Tohidi, Samar Haider In recent years, especially following the 2016 presidential election, both the media and American society have been grappling with the pervasive issue of fake news. This has sparked a surge in related research (Lazer et al., 2018; Vosoughi, Roy, Aral, 2018).

However, spreading false information is not the only way to influence public opinion. For example, Allen et al. (2024) demonstrated that factually accurate but misleading content on Facebook can significantly cast doubts on vaccine safety or efficacy, 46 times more than posts flagged as misinformation by third-party fact-checkers. Mainstream media can also mislead the public through their selective choice of facts, or framing of their narratives, even without disseminating outright falsehoods. While these tactics are extensively studied in Political Science and Communications, advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) offer new tools to test their impact in a controlled environment. Motivated by journalistic choices and their influence on readers, Amir Tohidi and Samar Haider used data from the Media Bias Detector dashboard to extract information from actual news articles on various events.

They then used LLMs to generate synthetic articles with carefully controlled biases and assessed the impact of these articles on people through a survey experiment. They presented their work, “Investigating the Impact of Media Bias on News Readers,” at the 2024 International Conference on Computational Social Sciences (IC2S2) which was held at the University of Pennsylvania last week. In particular, Tohidi and Haider study the impact of selection and framing. In this context, selection refers to the choice of which facts to include or omit in an article while framing refers to how they are presented, i.e. how they are ordered and what kind of tone or emphasis is placed on them. Framing can also include the use of opinions and quotes to reinforce a particular view.

This selection and framing by journalists on both sides of the political spectrum creates different “realities” for their readers as they end up with very different perspectives of the same topic depending on the... Media, as a powerful entity, plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion and perceptions. However, the concept of Media Bias often raises questions about the neutrality and objectivity of news sources. In this article, we delve into the multifaceted phenomenon of Media Bias, exploring its various forms, implications, and real-world examples. Media Bias refers to the systematic favouritism or prejudice present in the dissemination of information by news outlets. It can manifest in various forms, affecting the way news stories are framed, sources are selected, and also how language is employed.

Recognising Media Bias is essential for media consumers to critically engage with information. One prevalent form of bias is political bias, where news outlets lean towards a particular political ideology. A classic example is Fox News in the United States, who are often accused of having a conservative, right-wing bias. Conversely, outlets like MSNBC are perceived as having a more liberal, left-wing slant. Scholars such as Bagdikian (2004) argue that ownership patterns influence political bias. Therefore, media outlets align narratives with the political ideologies of their owners or major shareholders.

Commercial interests can also impact media content. Large media conglomerates, driven by profit motives, may prioritise sensationalism over objectivity. This form of bias can be seen in the coverage of celebrity scandals or the emphasis on clickbait headlines to significantly increase online engagement. Scrolling through the comments on a news organization’s website or social media page reveals a widespread perception: Many people perceive bias in news coverage. Although, few people find that the news is biased in their favor. Young people are no exception.

Almost 70% of teens believe that news organizations intentionally add bias to their coverage and only present the facts that support their own perspective, according to the News Literacy Project’s survey of teen information... During National News Literacy Week, the News Literacy Project’s Peter Adams led a webinar for educators that shared practical advice and tips to help students regain trust in credible news and to question faulty... Here are some takeaways from Adams’ presentation, which provided educators tools to teach this vital, controversial and complex topic in ways that empower students to meaningfully evaluate the fairness and impartiality of news coverage. (View the recording.) Some organizations publish charts or rating systems that show where they believe news sites fall on a political spectrum. Although the creators of these rankings claim to make bias within news organizations more transparent, Adams warns against taking the representations at face value.

Rankings appear to offer a solution for people looking to “unbias, unspin or decode news coverage,” Adams said. But they imply that bias is present in every newsroom and that the creator of such charts is objective enough to discern how to quantify each news organization. Adams recommends taking a critical look before basing opinions about news coverage on these tools. Analyze not only how they represent different organizations, but the reasoning behind their conclusions. Adams also notes the importance of differentiating between news reports and opinion pieces. On some media bias charts, opinion pieces are included in a site’s ranking.

Opinion pieces, which are not intended to be impartial, should be excluded when assessing whether a site’s news reports are neutral and credible. Sarah Lee AI generated Llama-4-Maverick-17B-128E-Instruct-FP8 5 min read · May 25, 2025 In today's media landscape, maintaining credibility and trust with the audience is paramount for journalists and news organizations. One of the significant challenges they face is bias in journalism, which can manifest in various forms and undermine the integrity of reporting. This article aims to explore the types of bias in journalism, how to recognize them, and strategies for minimizing their impact. Bias in journalism can be subtle or overt, influencing the way news is reported, consumed, and perceived.

Understanding the different types of bias is the first step towards mitigating their effects. Confirmation bias occurs when journalists give more weight to information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs or hypotheses, potentially ignoring or downplaying contradictory evidence. This can lead to incomplete or skewed reporting, reinforcing existing narratives rather than presenting a balanced view. For instance, a journalist investigating a political story might focus on sources that support their preconceived notions about a particular party or ideology, while dismissing or underreporting opposing views. This selective reporting can distort public perception and contribute to the polarization of political discourse.

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Sarah Lee AI Generated Llama-4-Maverick-17B-128E-Instruct-FP8 6 Min Read · May

Sarah Lee AI generated Llama-4-Maverick-17B-128E-Instruct-FP8 6 min read · May 26, 2025 In today's complex media landscape, understanding and addressing media bias is crucial for promoting diverse perspectives in journalism. Media bias can significantly impact public opinion, influence democratic processes, and affect marginalized communities. This comprehensive guide will explore the definition, ...

The Following Diagram Illustrates The Different Types Of Media Bias:

The following diagram illustrates the different types of media bias: Media bias has been a persistent issue throughout history, with various factors contributing to its evolution. The rise of mass media in the 20th century led to increased concerns about media bias, particularly with the emergence of 24-hour news cycles and the proliferation of cable television. By Delphine Gardiner, Amir Tohidi, ...

However, Spreading False Information Is Not The Only Way To

However, spreading false information is not the only way to influence public opinion. For example, Allen et al. (2024) demonstrated that factually accurate but misleading content on Facebook can significantly cast doubts on vaccine safety or efficacy, 46 times more than posts flagged as misinformation by third-party fact-checkers. Mainstream media can also mislead the public through their selectiv...

They Then Used LLMs To Generate Synthetic Articles With Carefully

They then used LLMs to generate synthetic articles with carefully controlled biases and assessed the impact of these articles on people through a survey experiment. They presented their work, “Investigating the Impact of Media Bias on News Readers,” at the 2024 International Conference on Computational Social Sciences (IC2S2) which was held at the University of Pennsylvania last week. In particula...

This Selection And Framing By Journalists On Both Sides Of

This selection and framing by journalists on both sides of the political spectrum creates different “realities” for their readers as they end up with very different perspectives of the same topic depending on the... Media, as a powerful entity, plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion and perceptions. However, the concept of Media Bias often raises questions about the neutrality and objectiv...