Wednesday's Biased Item - August 29, 2007
What’s Wrong With This Headline?
Excerpt
Read the excerpt below from the blog VerumSerum.com posted Aug.27th. Then scroll down and read "Types of Media Bias."QUESTIONS:
1. What is wrong with Time's headline "Bush Motorcade Kills Cop"?
2. What type of bias is this an example of?
(Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.)
What's Wrong With This Headline?
"Bush Motorcade Kills Cop"
When I first read it, I assumed one of the limos had swerved into a crowd. But no, here’s what happened. A member of the President’s motorcade died Monday when his motorcycle crashed violently near a parking garage. Police aren’t saying exactly what happened yet, but I don’t think anyone suspects foul play.
The suggestion of Time [Magazine's] headline is that someone is culpable for the officer’s death and the only name in the headline is that of the President. Better options would have been “Bush Motorcade Cop Dies†or perhaps “Presidential Motorcade Officer Killed in Crash.†Time is suggesting blame where none exists. ....................
Here are the headlines from a few other major news outlets:
- "New Mexico motorcycle officer dies escorting Bush" – Reuters
- "Bush motorcade cop dies in crash" – UPI
- "One Dead in Bush Motorcade Crash" – ABC News
Time’s phrasing remains unique.
Go to VerumSerum.com for the original posting.
(view the headline and article at Time's website here: www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1656739,00.html)
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.
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. (See our chart “Conservative vs. Liberal Beliefs”)
Types of Media Bias:
Omission – leaving one side out of an article or a series of articles over a period of time... (read more)
Selection of Sources – including more sources that support one view over another... (read more)
Story Selection – a pattern of highlighting news stories that support one side of an issue over another... (read more)
Placement – the location in the paper or article where a story or event is printed; a pattern of placing news stories so as to downplay information supportive of one side... (read more)
Labeling – comes in two forms: 1. Tagging of person from one party or group with extreme labels while leaving the other side unlabeled or with more mild labels. 2. A reporter not only fails to identify a liberal or conservative as such, but also describes the person or group with positive labels, such as “an expert” or “independent consumer group”... (read more)
Spin – occurs when the story has only one interpretation of an event or policy, to the exclusion of the other. Spin involves tone- a reporter’s subjective comments about objective facts... (read more)
Previous Biased Items
- Washington Post Ombudsman: ‘3 to 1’ Obama Front Page Advantage
August 20, 2008 - Poll Shows Majority of Americans Believe Reporters Try to Help Their Candidates Win
June 11, 2008 - The Great Media Depression
June 4, 2008 - The AP Maligns Our Soldiers On Memorial Day Weekend
May 28, 2008 - Media Make Economic Storms Out of Silver Linings
May 21, 2008