Biased Journlism

The issue of bias in journalism really made me think a lot especially after our class, not being able to eliminate it doesn’t sound right; but just looking at some interviews during this past two days I just came to the realization that sometimes that biased is needed. Some of the reporters I was watching were very passive with their questions and in many cases didn’t even get clear answers to what they were asking. While I was sitting there watching I felt that they weren’t doing the job they had to do. I really feel strong bout the issue and felt that maybe having a stronger opinion can lead the journalist to make those uncomfortable questions that everyone avoids, it can lead them to be more assertive in the type of questions that they asked. This way more of the "truth" could actually come to the surface, be unveiled, and the public can form a better opinion on the issue.

Knowing that the bias cannot be completely eliminated due to the background and experiences that each of us have don’t take my sleep away anymore. I just feel that it is our duty as citizens to dig deeper when we want to form an opinion about an issue and not just let the media feed us what they think or what they want. It is not a secret for anyone that the media is manipulated to focus the attention of the public on certain areas and forget about others, although the media will never accept this we cannot be blind. For this same reason we need to look for all of the sides of a story and then we can really have a clear picture.

I was reading an article from Reuters about their journalism. In the article “Handbook of Journalism” They claim that they are completely unbiased with their reporting.

“Reuters would not be Reuters without freedom from bias. We are a “stateless” news service that welcomes diversity into our newsrooms but asks all staff to park their nationality and politics at the door. This neutrality is a hallmark of our news brand and allows us to work on all sides of an issue, conflict or dispute without any agenda other than accurate, fair reporting”

I find this interesting because after our last class discussion, I can only see that it will be impossible for any journalist to leave everything they are behind the door of the newsroom because they will have to stop going in the newsroom completely. The experiences and background are the roots of whom we are now and that will always play a part in any issue that we report on. But as I said before I dint see these as a problem unless they biased is completely obvious and it tempers with the truth that has to be presented. I had found myself changing sides on some issues after I studied all the sides and have a clear picture, after a put myself on the shoes of the protagonists on both sides of a story.