Directions

-Read the excerpt below from Kyle Drennen's post at Media Research Center on March 4.
-Read "Types of Media Bias" in the right column (or here). Then answer the questions.

The three network morning shows combined gave less than two minutes of air time to President Obama’s proposed 2015 budget on Tuesday, though they all managed to highlight how the plan “will cut taxes for thirteen and a half million working Americans.”   What the NBC, ABC, and CBS broadcasts all ignored was that the debt projections under the President’s budget were off by $2.7 trillion compared to recent numbers released by the Congressional Budget Office.

As the Washington Post pointed out on Tuesday:

“[Obama’s budget] forecasts a dramatic reduction in deficits over the coming decade. The request paints a much rosier debt scenario than a report released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office a month ago.”

On NBC’s Today, news reader Natalie Morales announced: “The nearly $4 trillion plan will cut taxes for thirteen and a half million working Americans while expanding the child independent care tax credit to help families afford child care.” In a later news brief on the program, co-host Savannah Guthrie touted “highlights” of the plan that included: “…more spending on education, job training, and infrastructure. And new tax breaks for parents.”

Morales did mention a more controversial aspect of the budget: “The President’s blueprint also proposes cuts to Army and National Guard personnel.” She also noted: “Political analysts believe the President’s budget, though, is unlikely to get very far in Congress.”

On ABC’s Good Morning America, news reader Josh Elliot declared: “President Obama will unveil his $4 trillion election year budget plan today. It will include new tax breaks for 13 million low-income workers, but will not include proposed cuts to Social Security benefits.”

CBS This Morning co-host Norah O’Donnell proclaimed: “This morning, the White House is getting ready to release a 2015 budget packed with stimulus money.”

Skipping over the unlikelihood of the budget gaining support in Congress, O’Donnell portrayed it as bipartisan:

The centerpiece is an approach to fighting poverty that is favored by Republicans. President Obama wants to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for another 13 million Americans. That program gives tax breaks to the working poor. The President would pay its $60 billion cost by closing loopholes for wealthier taxpayers.

O’Donnell explained that Obama was “seeking more than $300 billion for highways, bridges, and transit” and that the “nearly $4 trillion” budget was “slightly higher than the current budget.”

Reacting to the President’s proposal on Tuesday, House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan [Republican] stated:

The President’s budget is yet another disappointment – because it reinforces the status quo. It would demand that families pay more so Washington can spend more. It would hollow out our defense capabilities. And it would do nothing to preserve or strengthen our entitlements. The President has just three years left in his administration, and yet he seems determined to do nothing about our fiscal challenges. This budget isn’t a serious document; it’s a campaign brochure. In divided government, we need leadership and collaboration. And in this budget, we have neither.

Identifying Media Bias

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.

Types of Media Bias:

Questions

  • The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the U.S. government that provides economic data to Congress. 
  • The CBO has produced independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process.
  • The agency is strictly nonpartisan and conducts objective, impartial analysis. All CBO employees are appointed solely on the basis of professional competence, without regard to political affiliation. 

1.  What type of bias do the “Big Three” networks display by ignoring the CBO report showing that the debt projections under President Obama’s proposed budget were off by $2.7 trillion? (go to studentnewsdaily.com/types-of-media-bias for a list)

2.  Why do you think the networks did not include this information in their reports?


Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.

Answers

1.  ABC, NBC and CBS display bias by:

  • omission: ignoring facts that tend to disprove liberal or conservative claims, or that support liberal or conservative beliefs
  • selection of sources: when a news story only presents one side, it is obviously the side the reporter supports.
  • spin: Bias by spin occurs when the story has only one interpretation of an event or policy, to the exclusion of the other; spin involves tone – it’s a reporter’s subjective comments about objective facts

2.  Opinion question. Answers vary.