Weekly Example of Media Bias - January 29, 2014
1. What is Roe v. Wade?
2. What is the the March for Life?
3. What is a public editor?
4. What type of bias did the New York Times display in its reporting on the 2014 March for Life?
5. NY Times public editor Margaret Sullivan quoted two readers who wrote to her to complain about the Times' lack of coverage. They wrote:
--"I believe a paper of the NY Times’ stature has a duty to fairly report significant national events." and
--"A massive pro-life march in a winter storm is all but ignored. And the motto of the New York Times is, 'All the News That’s Fit to Print.' I guess pro-life news is not fit to print.”
a) Were you aware that there was a pro-life rally, held every year in January for the past 40 years, attended by so many young people?
b) Do you agree or disagree with the assertions made by these two readers? Explain your answer.
c) Do you think The Times (and the media in general) portray pro-life/right-to-life/anti-abortion supporters in a negative light while portraying pro-choice/pro-abortion in a positive light, or vice-versa, or do you think they report only the facts about the supporters of each position? Explain your answer.