on news media bias

TL;DR: it's common for us to blame modern american problems on "the media".  it's a convenient way to blame someone else for a problem that is actually, in fact, 100% caused by us.  the media are funded by advertising, whose rates are set by audience size.  the media in fact provide us what we want, not necessarily what's true.

 

is news media biased?  i mean, you sure about that?

if so... seems to me the bias is much more in those who consume the information, not as much in those who produce it.

lately it seems the more important measure of the success of a news outlet isn't the proportion of it which is factual, rather it's the ratings (tv, radio) and circulation (print).

if so, then these two thoughts above seem to fit pretty well.

if anything, an unethical news media outlet who shows bias, is not necessarily biased toward a political position idealistically, rather they create and support their bias based on what their audience wants, and what will attract more audience.

isn't that odd? i mean, the president repeats this all the time, and those on the right are happy to parrot it. meaning, he asserts that fox news is a better news media outlet because their ratings are higher. that cnn and msnbc are "failures" because their ratings are low.

keep in mind that when it comes to tv and radio, you get high ratings when you produce content that people like, show people what they want to see, and tell people what they want to hear. in the entertainment industry, that's how it has worked for centuries.

and when it comes to the news, as our country becomes more angry and fearful through manipulation, more and more, what people want to hear isn't necessarily what's factual, rather what they want to hear is anything that reinforces what they already believe, or what they want to believe.

this tendency is anti-american.

when it comes to americans who lean politically to the right, there seems to be a growing group who consume and exchange ideas like this:

when they are exposed to a news story or editorial opinion that...

• ...conflicts with what they already believe:

--they get to work seeking out plenty of information from contrary sources, regardless of the credibility of the sources, using whatever energy and critical thinking is necessary, just until enough is found that allows them to discount and dismiss the conflicting information.

• ...concurs with what they already believe:

--they accept that information as truth and pass it along without question. as for doing research to seek out whether it's true or not, that's a waste of time. of course it's true and credible, regardless of the source. it supports what is already believed. how could it be wrong? that would make them wrong, and they’re not wrong, because they already know they’re right. duh.

one sign of bad citizenship (not to mention bad science) is when one uses effective critical thinking skills only when opposing ideas that conflict with their position, but then sell out their critical thinking skills to their political party when exposed to ideas--any ideas--that seem to make their position more solid. regardless of source, support, or facts.

not only is it bad citizenship, it actually makes one more susceptible to media outlets that are seeking to manipulate rather than inform.

perhaps i'm biased, but conservatives seem to be more susceptible to manipulation this way. they put a lot of stock in hollow symbolic patriotism, and choose time after time to ignore real patriotism. the kind that actually rolls up its sleeves to fix things that are broken, to improve this country in innovative ways that the world can (and does) copy.

those in right wing media often lie to make their point. when football players kneel to protest and draw attention to injustice, the right chooses to lie by framing this as an assault on the flag and our soldiers. (i'm waiting for someone, anyone, to find any evidence that athletes kneel to protest our flag and soldiers. nope. conservatives are happy to believe the lie, since it helps make them feel better about themselves, and they can avoid having to walk in anyone else's shoes). i mean, in a way, football players who kneel are actually sacrificing themselves quite a bit for the greater good, in an attempt to make this country better.

as for those who sign over their critical thinking skills to their echo chamber or political party of choice, yeah, i'm thinking maybe that's less patriotic than those who sacrifice themselves to draw attention to injustices.

personally, i never kneel before the flag, and never kneel for the national anthem, but that's my choice, for my reasons, and it's actually consistent with conservative principles to respect each citizen's path of being a citizen, and each citizen's path following what they understand their role is in serving and improving their country.

the problem with conservatives is that they love freedom until someone uses that freedom to be free in a way that doesn't harm anyone else, but still gets under the skin of what conservatives believe is acceptable behavior.

conservative idealism is a strong thing for the future of our country.
but today's conservatives, in. actual. action. are a toxic joke to the american experiment.

next time you see a football player kneel, maybe try, for just a second, to think that maybe what's on their mind at that moment, is that they're trying to make america better.

or you can continue believing what the media tells you, when you know that the only thing they want, is for you to keep watching.