Bias

One of the questions we need to ask ourselves is: How much of the news is biased? Can we recognise bias? The fact is, despite the journalistic ideal of 'objectivity', every news story is influenced by the attitudes and background of its interviewers, writers, journalists, photographers and editors. That is not to say that all bias is deliberate , but it does exist. So how can we, as readers or viewers, determine bias? Well, in the case of newspapers, it manifests itself in a number of ways, such as what events are selected for inclusion or omission. The placement of the article, meaning its proximity to the front or back pages, is significant. The use of headlines, photographs and language are further examples.