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Directions
-Read the excerpt below from James Taranto's "Best of the Web" post at opinionjournal.com.
-Read "Types of Media Bias" in the right column. Then answer the questions.
The Oakland (Mich.) Press has an upbeat story about military recruitment:
Kyle Thiel can’t wait to join the U.S. Army and fight the “war on terror” in Iraq as part of an infantry unit.
“Ever since 9/11, that’s all I wanted to do,” said Thiel, 18, of White Lake Township….
The Army is enlisting far more soldiers than before the war, officials said.
“Pre-invasion, the military was in a different mode. The Cold War had ended and the Army didn’t need to be at such full strength,” said Army spokesman Jeff Landenberger.
“Now a lot of people come in strictly for patriotism. They want to be part of history,” added Army Sgt. Aaron Stuckey, 28, of Birmingham.
The headline: “Despite War, Army Draws Recruits.” Despite?
Go to OpinionJournal.com for the original posting from 4/17/07.
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 is wrong with the headline “Despite War, Army Draws Recruits”?
2. What type of bias is the post below an example of?
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.
Answers
1. The headline told a very different story than the article. Editors not reporters are generally responsible for headlines, and they can greatly influence opinions about the news. The importance of a bias-free headline is that most people don’t read every word of every article; they often just skim the headlines. That meant the people who read just the headline got a very different impression from those who read the entire article . (this answer provided by Lynn Davidson in a June 8, 2007 post at Newsbusters.org)
2. The headline is an example of bias by spin.
