Dixya Poudel

Media is a pillar of democracy. And media is almost everywhere from radio and television to newspapers. Today, an additional media called social media is becoming a major source of news and information. Overall, media is required to be objective in its messages and yet we can see bias in media quite often.

Bias means prejudice and discrimination for or against certain groups and people, often in an unfair way. It incites ill feelings among people of different communities, nationalities, cultures and religions. Bias can be social, political, religious and cultural. It can affect decisions on how people conduct themselves in the contemporary world. For an unbiased society, it is necessary to be an active consumer of media messages instead of being a passive one.

Likewise, media is at the centre of the ways news and information are circulated which is why it is important that journalists be objective when presenting messages. As such, an objective journalism refers to presentation of fair news based on facts instead of only opinions.

When it comes to media there are mainly three types of biases which are bias by omission, bias by placement and bias by spin. Bias by omission includes one sided stories and avoidance of coverage. Coverage refers to the publishing of news and information about particular events in a national or international level.

Bias of omission occurs when there are no news reports being covered about a significant situation or event. Likewise, one sided story refers to presentation of only one point of view which isn’t an example of fair journalism. When media companies have conflicts of interest they tend to be biased in disseminating news and information. For fair journalism, both positive and negative sides of a story ought to be published.

Bias by placement occurs when certain news is given preference in terms of placing them on the headlines of the newspaper pages, news videos and radio broadcasts. It also occurs when news is sensationalised. Sensationalism means news as a form of entertainment that is used to entertain audiences or readers instead of informing them about important situations or events. On the other hand, bias by spin is a presentation of positive or negative points of view about a particular subject so as to sway the opinion of the masses.

Today instead of presenting an objective point of view, media tends to present a positive or negative analysis of news stories. They tell the audience what to think instead of allowing the audience to make their own opinions. Media literacy is crucial when it comes to consumption of media messages. It can be used to overcome bias in the contemporary world. Whenever media messages are presented to us we need to look for points of view that are being omitted.

We also need to question the importance of a particular media message in our context. Most importantly, we need to ask ourselves if the media message wants us to have a positive or negative views and opinions about the news.
To avoid echo chamber which is the conformity of media messages one consumes, it is necessary to be media literate. In today’s age and time, objective news is of paramount importance to tackle media bias.