Bias In Mass Media

The first true version of mass media that our country experienced was the newspaper and that was all thanks to the printing press. By having the newspaper people were finally able to read and understand what was going on around them and not only what they heard by word of mouth (Hearens, Par.1). As technology advanced so did society. As information became easier to access, the readers demanded more making the mass media industry skyrocket. By the early 20th century everyone had a newspaper delivered to their doorstep, billboards were up on every mile marker and street corner, and marketing became even more invasive in stores, radio, and film(Hearens,Par.3,4). Not only has mass media become more prevalent to our growing society but, …show more content…
That means that many Americans are completely unaware of who has control of what they are thinking. It is the American citizens who rely on mass media for their daily information who are effected even if they are not aware of it. Paula Zahn a journalists said, "And it clearly colors their reaction to reporting, and I think it 's, you know, very difficult for people to separate their own personal views from the way they interpret the news." People in our modern society have such a huge amount of information at their fingertips but, how can citizens trust the information and make their own thoughts based on false accusations and opinions of biased journalists (Liaugminas Par. 7). The heads of these huge companies need to provide their proof and let readers know when they are reading something …show more content…
Many people believe that if we limit what is told to us than we are limiting a person’s freedom of speech. This however is true. Although we cannot stop people from spreading their beliefs we can enforce news companies to provide unbiased information. In order for this to be a possibility the FCC, Federal Communications Commission, should be more adamant on what companies are feeding its viewers. If there were stricter guidelines to what people could alter in stories and if fact checking was mandatory, our news would be a stronger source. “Criteria for much news in general is about what can shock and rouse our emotions as opposed to what is actually informative and useful to society” (El-Hady, Par. 4). Mass Media needs to stop trying to appeal to our emotions and more to our brain. Fact checking is usually done by a group of researchers who simultaneously check what is being said to the public. By having these people doing this before every news story or even during than, we are limiting the use of misinformation in what is told to the public(Hemingway). As a whole, our nation needs to feel safe about the information they are hearing every day and there is no better way to prove it than with factual