Detecting Media Bias

When reading any article of news it is important to make critical evaluations of the story. There are many writers who have a hard time not showing their bias in their writing. Because of this, you as the reader must be diligent to evaluate the story and look for any bias before accepting the words as truth.

I recently read a story online about the presidential candidates campaigning throughout America right now and took the time to examine it for bias. I found the story to be fairly complete and extensive. It was very easy to read and clearly written. I was able to read this short article and feel like I know what the president was trying to accomplish from his bus tour this week. While the story itself focuses on Obama, the authors of the article made sure to include the intentions and actions this week of Republican candidate, Romney. I feel it may have been a more complete article had the authors included a little more of the campaigning strategies of Romney. However, since the headline clearly states that the article was about Obama’s campaigning tour, I do not see this as a form of bias.

Being able to detect bias in the media today is a much needed skill that many are lacking. It is impossible to be able to fully formulate your own opinion on a subject if you are not aware of the whole story. Whenever you read or hear about a story, it is important to ask yourself the basic questions necessary to determine if it is a biased piece of news. Otherwise, you are not making your own, informed decision on the topic, you are relying on someone else’s ideas to become your own. Paul and Elder, (2008) define intellectual discipline as, “The trait of thinking in accordance with intellectual standards, intellectual rigor, carefulness, order, and conscious control. The undisciplined thinker cannot recognize when he or she comes to unwarranted conclusions, confuses ideas, fails to consider pertinent evidence, and so on.” It is our duty as the reader to...