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Directions
-Read the excerpt below from the "Best of the Web" post by OpinionJournal.com's editor James Taranto (original post date 4/27/10).
-Read "Types of Media Bias" in the right column. Then answer the questions.
“From the Mall to the Docks, Signs of Rebound,” reads a New York Times headline. Here’s how the story, datelined Portland, Ore., starts:
The docks are humming again at this sprawling Pacific port, with clouds of golden dust billowing off the piles of grain spilling into the bellies of giant tankers.
“Things are looking up,” said Dan Broadie, a longshoreman. No longer killing time at the union hall while waiting for work, instead he is guiding a mechanized spout pouring 44,000 tons of wheat into the Arion SB, bound for the Philippines.
The New York Times has its archives available and searchable online; access to articles published since 1987 is free. Can anyone find an article striking a similarly cheerleading tone during the 20 of the past 30 years in which the president was a Republican–even from a time when the economy actually was good?
Read the original post at opinionjournal.com. (Scroll one-third of the way down the page for the entry.)
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. Do you think that the excerpt below is an example of media bias on the part of The New York Times?
2. Mr. Taranto challenges readers to find a Times article that is equally positive about the economy when a Republican was president. Do you think this is a logical way to prove if bias exists? Explain your answer.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.
Answers
1. and 2. Opinion questions. Answers vary.
