Present an analysis of diversity and bias in the media

The Round Table

7

 

The development of media.

Media development involves capacity building for institutions or individuals related to freedom of expression, pluralism and diversity of media, as well as transparency of media ownership. Media development plays a role in democracy and effective democratic discourse through supporting free and independent media.

Internews is an international media development organization whose mission is to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard.

Internews has worked in over 70 countries and trained over 80,000 people in media skills. Together with local partners, Internews activities include establishing and supporting media outlets, journalist associations, and broadcast networks. Internews also has special programs to improve reporting on the environment, humanitarian crises, public health and women's issues.

Formed in 1982, Internews Network is a 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in California. The organization currently works in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

 

Traditional media vs new media.

Traditional media allows businesses to target a broad target audience through billboards, print advertising, television commercials, and more. In comparison, new media allows companies to target a narrow target audience through social media, paid online ads, and search results. Price-wise, traditional media tends to cost more than new media due to its broad targeting and advertising channels.

Traditional media includes mostly non-digital advertising and marketing methods.

Traditional media is:

· Television advertisements

· Radio advertising

· Print advertising

· Direct mail advertisements

· Billboards and off-site signs

· Cold calling

· Door-to-door sales

· Banner ads

New media, also called digital media, consists of methods that are mostly online or involve the Internet in some sense.

These methods include:

· Search engine optimization

· Pay-per-click advertising

· Content marketing

· Social media

· Email marketing

 

Media education in Russia.

The development of media literacy education in modern Russia, having been for a quarter of a century at the stage of the enthusiasts' experiment, is facing a number of problems. In accordance with UNESCO recommendations, it is necessary: to develop comprehensive programs for media education at all educational levels; training teachers in the field of media education and increasing awareness of media literacy of all stakeholders and organizations in the social sphere; conducting research in the field of media education and the wide dissemination of their results; international cooperation in the field of media education; and most importantly the wide practical implementation of media education of the population at various levels. In this direction, it is necessary to consolidate pedagogical universities, universities, schools of journalism, libraries, media centers, and media community; coordination of interaction of state structures, already existing media education centers and experimental sites in this field. In a word, it is necessary to introduce media education wherever possible within the curricula (schools, universities), as well as in the context of additional, informal education and self life-long education. The model of mass media education we have developed, in our opinion, can be adapted to different age and professional groups of the population, but preferably requires, of course, substantial support from the state, media and public structures.

Present an analysis of diversity and bias in the media.

· Centrist bias. In her column, Sullivan inveighs against the bias toward political centrism and notes that it often crowds out thought-provoking political views on both the left and right. She also calls out a related problem, bothsidesism: blaming the parties equally, even when they don't deserve equal blame.

Brian Fallon, the Democratic strategist, recently had a pointed description of bothsidesism. He described it as a “a performative effort to triangulate so as to present the journalist as more deserving of the public’s trust than their elected leaders. It’s a political act, and shows just as much bias as picking a side.”

· Affluent bias. The media isn't just biased toward the center. It often confuses the center with views that are actually those of the affluent. My newsletter on Tuesday — about Howard Schultz — made the fuller version of the argument.

Why does this bias exist? National journalists, the ones who often set the agenda, spend a fair amount of time around wealthy people, and national journalists themselves tend to be more affluent than most Americans. A classic example: At a 2008 Democratic primary debate, a then-anchor at ABC News anchor, Charlie Gibson, suggested that a middle class family in New Hampshire might make $200,000 a year. The audience laughed.

· Bias for the new. Journalists often confuse newness with importance. The problem lurks in the product’s name: “News.” Too often, we emphasize relatively trivial stories — like candidates taking verbal swipes at each other — over more important ones, like the candidates’ tax policy, as New York University’s Jay Rosen has argued. In the 2016 presidential debates, for instance, the moderators almost completely ignored climate change.

· The same biases that afflict society. From sexism in political reporting (“likability”) to racism in crime coverage (the “crack baby” stereotype), the media often suffers from the same biases that other Americans do. But we could certainly be doing more to fight back. Female and nonwhite voices remain underrepresented at major publications.

· Liberal bias. Yes, it’s real. Most mainstream journalists do lean left. Political reporters and Washington reporters are usually professional enough to keep these views from affecting their coverage. Instead, they’re more likely to suffer from bothsidesism, even when a both-sides story isn’t the most accurate one. The coverage of Hillary Clinton’s emails, to take one example, certainly didn’t suffer from liberal bias.

But on issue-based coverage, liberal bias exists. Education reform — the media’s frequent hostility toward charter schools — is one example. My colleague Ross Douthat makes his case about liberal bias on this week’s episode of “The Argument” podcast. As you will hear, I partly agreed with him and partly pushed back. Michelle Goldberg disagreed with him more fully. It was a good debate.

· Conservative bias. It’s real, too. Fox News and talk radio are huge, influential parts of the media. They skew hard right, and they often present their readers with misleading or outright false information, be it “birtherism” or conspiracy theories.

Much of the media — local and national, news reporters and opinion columnists — tries hard to tell stories accurately and corrects itself when it errs. Fox and a lot of talk radio do not. And I’ll take a fallible, self-reflective media, even with all of the biases I’ve listed here, over a media that is more akin to propaganda.