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Directions

-Read the excerpt below from the "Best of the Web" post by OpinionJournal.com's editor James Taranto.
-Read "Types of Media Bias" in the right column. Then answer the question.

From a post by OpinionJournal.com’s editor James Taranto (original post date 12/8/11):

Thomas Beaumont of the Associated Press describes a new Mitt Romney campaign ad:

“I’m a man of steadiness and constancy. I don’t think you’re going to find somebody who has more of those attributes than I do,” the former Massachusetts governor said in a new TV ad that included grainy home videos of his wife and five sons. There was no mention of equivocations and policy reversals that his critics have pointed out.

Note what Beaumont did in that last sentence. Just as “some say” is journalese for “I think,” “There was no mention of” means “In my opinion, someone should mention.”

(Read the original post at opinionjournal.com – scroll halfway down to “Reporter Tricks”)

Identifying Media Bias

To accurately identify different types of bias, you should be aware of the issues of the day, and the liberal and conservative perspectives on each issue.

Types of Media Bias:

Questions

1.  Define editorialize.

2.  The definition for which “Type of Media Bias” is similar to the term ‘editorialize’?

3.  Does Mr. Taranto make a valid point when he writes: “Just as ‘some say’ is journalese for ‘I think,’  ‘There was no mention of’ means ‘In my opinion, someone should mention.'”?  Explain your answer.


Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.

Answers

1.  editorialize – to introduce opinion into the reporting of facts (from Merriam-Webster Dictionary, m-w.com)  OR  to express a personal opinion, especially when you should be giving a report of the facts only (from dictionary.cambridge.org)

2.  The definition of spin is similar to editorialize.

3.  Opinion question. Answers vary.