Media bias

Media bias occurs when journalists and news producers present factual bias in how they report and convey news, current events, dialogue, or opinions. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article. The direction and degree of media bias in various markets (i.e, countries) is widely disputed. Practical limitations to media neutrality include the inability of journalists to report all available stories and facts, and the requirement that selected facts be linked into a coherent narrative. Government influence, including overt and censorship, biases the media in some media markets such as countries. Politics and media bias may interact with each other; the media has the ability to influence politicians, and politicians may have the power to influence the media. This can change the distribution of power in society. Market forces may also cause bias. Examples include bias introduced by the ownership of media, including a concentration of media ownership, the subjective selection of staff, or the perceived preferences of an intended audience. Further some press bodies may mass-produce journalist content for syndication via multiple entities without each entity conducting further verification and research independently leading to the entire membership producing information that is mirrored with no further analysis, probing or confirmation. The impact of media bias is observed across social, political, and economic contexts. Media bias can influence public opinion by shaping how information is presented, including the framing of issues, selection of topics, and emphasis on particular viewpoints. This may affect how audiences interpret and form attitudes toward political actors, policies, and social groups. Assessing possible bias is one aspect of media literacy, which is studied at schools of journalism, university departments (including media studies, cultural studies, and peace studies). Other focuses...