Bias In The Media Essay

The portrayal of current events in the media wields a formidable power over the opinions of its viewers. By watching or reading the news, the recipients are formulating their own judgements on the content based off of the supposedly objective information given. However, if the media chose to broadcast false or biased news, it could affect the mindsets of the entire nation and rally support for a private agenda while misusing freedom of the press to spread lies. The media also has the power to choose which stories to broadcast and some important events are not relayed to the public at all because of personal opinions and agendas. Representation in the media is flawed because of the bias in which the news portrays people, events, and organizations. Prejudiced media practices, such as …show more content…
The roles that the African American race is forced to fill within the media are blatantly prejudiced and allow flawed perceptions of African Americans to flourish, erasing the advances of the race in the face of discrimination. According to an article by Patricia J. Williams, “If the victim is black, the killer is much more likely to go free. If the shooter is black, the chances of conviction are much higher,” (18). This is partly the fault of unfair stereotypes of black men and women which portray them as thugs and criminals. These stereotypes can easily be spread through the media and can affect the decisions of parties involved in important matters such as court cases or new bills. Such stereotypes have been present for a great deal of time. It is evident in Richard Wright’s Native Son that the media was incredibly biased and played a large part in the verdict of Bigger Thomas’s case. The newspaper stated that “It is easy to