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Example of Media Bias:
(by Joseph Vazquez, MRC January 13, 2020) – A new study found that the three major network evening newscasts only gave the booming economy and U.S. trade nine minutes of coverage since the House Democrats’ impeachment push began on September 24, 2019.
The analysis found that from September 24, 2019 – January 1, 2020, out of 1,098 total minutes, ABC, CBS and NBC gave:
- 9 minutes to the booming economy. Any news on Trump’s economy (including his trade negotiations) only accounted for 0.8 percent (less than 1 percent) of coverage across 100 days.
- 849 minutes: The Trump impeachment/Ukraine probe
Specifics from the analysis found:
- the administration’s trade talks with China were given just over six minutes of coverage during these 100 days
- the successful effort to get the USMCA trade deal through the House received just 66 seconds of airtime
The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 1 in a piece headlined “The Bull Market is Charging into 2020,” that stocks across the globe “closed out one of their best years over the past decade, defying money managers who began 2019 expecting the bull market to be upended by threats from the U.S.-China trade fight and a slowdown in growth.” The Journal noted that unlike prior runs of this sort, “few see the rally ending soon.”
And CNBC reported Dec. 31, 2019 that “Goldman Sachs is saying the economy is nearly recession-proof.”
The Journal noted:
“Many investment banks forecast solid, if modest, gains for the coming year, citing central banks’ easy-money policies, a resilient U.S. economy and a breakthrough in Washington-Beijing trade talks.”
The MRC analysis made it clear that none of these developments were deemed nearly as newsworthy when matched up against the media-driven impeachment.
Consider other crucial economic developments from late in 2019 that received scant coverage next to impeachment.
The December 6, 2019 jobs report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- CNBC called the jobs market results a “stellar performance,” and further noted that the 266,000 jobs added for November were “better than the 187,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.”
- CNN acknowledged Dec. 6 that a “couple of generations of people have not seen this kind of unemployment rate [3.5 percent].”
It would appear that ABC, CBS and NBC were more concerned with pushing their liberal impeachment agenda than actually reporting news that affects jobs and the American people’s pocketbooks.
Adapted and excerpted from a report by Joseph Vazquez, MRC January 13, 2020. Senior Editor Rich Noyes and research analyst Bill D’Agostino contributed to this report.
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. What type of bias does this post highlight?
2. Why should the networks have spent significant time on the economy?
3. Why do you think producers at the “Big 3” networks chose not to run stories on the record-breaking economy that is a result of President Trump’s policies and agenda?
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.
Answers
1. The post highlights bias by story selection and omission.
2. Viewers care about the economy. The booming economy is newsworthy. If you read/watch news reports on the job President Trump is doing, stories imply that he is not successful. The great economy is fantastic news for Americans. The media’s job is to report the whole story, not just the narrative they want it to be. Big Three evening newscasts are a principal news source for millions of viewers. The networks have a responsibility to inform viewers of important events. This is especially true for senior citizens – many of whom regularly watch NBC, ABC or CBS to get their news. If it is not reported on these news shows, they don’t hear about it.
3. Opinion question. Answers vary.
