Just browsing Wikipedia, and found this rather interesting tidbit. It’s called the “Hostile Media Effect”, and basically what it says is that there is a natural tendency for people to perceive media coverage as being slanted against their own viewpoint.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_media_effect
Very interesting, because I remember a lot of discussions here in PD about whether the media was controlled by the right wing or the left. Seems like it’s natural for people to think the media is “against” their own view.
Just made me think, that’s all. This is not intended to be a PD thread about whether the media is in fact slanted. More a reflection on human nature.
i think this is true in general. Personally i don’t believe that the media is “biased” against my viewpoint, however that may be because:
I know that journalists are trained to be objective, but I can recognize when one is being biased, I think. It’s easier to detect bias when it is in tension with your own, but I can also tell sometime that a reporter has a political agenda similar to mine. However, it doesn’t bother me, so I don’t notice it as much as a journalist who is pushing some contrary agenda.
But if a journalist reports a story neutrally, and you yourself are not neutral, I can see how you would see that journalist as being “against” you. It’s that “you’re either with us or against us” mindset that you see both on the right and the left.
Or think of it this way: your friend/girlfriend/wife) has had a fight with someone, and they want you to take their side. Instead, you take the middle ground, and suggest that maybe there is fault on both sides. Your friend feels betrayed because you are not backing them fully, you are pointing out their faults (the other side’s fault goes without saying, of course!), etc.
People do have a tendency to focus on their differences, rather than their common ground.
People do have a tendency to focus on their differences, rather than their common ground.
I think that is the key, when you read a story that you agree with your more likely to move on to the next story. When you disagree, you are more like ly take some action, comment etc.
I try to see the comparable facts and block out the usage of propaganda. But it can go either way. It is easy to make confusing arguments arise when many reports are hearsay and the only ones knowing the true facts were in the story itself.
@Ender:
I know that journalists are trained to be objective, but I can recognize when one is being biased, I think. It’s easier to detect bias when it is in tension with your own, but I can also tell sometime that a reporter has a political agenda similar to mine. However, it doesn’t bother me, so I don’t notice it as much as a journalist who is pushing some contrary agenda.
But if a journalist reports a story neutrally, and you yourself are not neutral, I can see how you would see that journalist as being “against” you. It’s that “you’re either with us or against us” mindset that you see both on the right and the left.
Or think of it this way: your friend/girlfriend/wife) has had a fight with someone, and they want you to take their side. Instead, you take the middle ground, and suggest that maybe there is fault on both sides. Your friend feels betrayed because you are not backing them fully, you are pointing out their faults (the other side’s fault goes without saying, of course!), etc.
People do have a tendency to focus on their differences, rather than their common ground.
I’d have to agree with what Fr…Ender said. I am a reporter working at a small town newspaper. When I was in school - last year - we had discussions about this sort of thing a lot of the time. Usually, if you know what sort of side/slant the medium is taking (ie: left or right) then you will have the mindset of, ‘well, this guy’s a right-wing nut job, and even though he makes a good point about X, and enlightened me on a topic, he’s still a right-wing nut job, sooooo I think I’m just going to disagree with him anyway.’ That is how some people think. They taught us to NOT think like that. That’s how you become a cynic and life then turns blah because of our attitude.
