As defeatist as this may sound, I believe there is always going to be an unavoidable level of bias in every news producing organisation. Whether it be Fox News, The Times or CNN, the notion of being truly objective is an elusive one. A study on news bias in America found that 35 per cent of the American public perceives the Fox News Company (FNC) as being in favour of the conservative agenda (Turner, 2007, p. 2). In Great Britain, newspaper bias is no secret. Papers such as the conservative Times and the left-leaning Guardian consistently and blatantly deliver their viewpoints on a massive scale (Ackerman, 2001).
Like any news media company, Al-Jazeera is not immune to an occasional bout of bias.
As Walid Al-Omary (cited in Nawawy 2003, p. 53), correspondent for Al-Jazeera explains:
"To be objective in this area is not easy because we live here. We are part of the
people here. And this situation belongs to us also, and we have our opinions."
Is this not the case with every Western journalist, reporter or news organisation? Do they not have opinions? To be objective anywhere is not easy. Poor excuse Mr Al-Omary.
The word ‘bias’ tends to conjure up some fairly negative connotations. However, I believe that some positives can be seen when it comes to news bias. Certainly, the blurring of truths and the disregarding of certain information is highly questionable and potentially devastating but presenting information to your audience in a way they can relate and engage with the content is relatively harmless.
The way Al-Jazeera presents their information may not match the tone of western broadcast media but it resonates with Arab viewers as it more accurately depicts the dominant ideologies of the middle east (Nawawy 2003, p. 53). If Western nations can have their awful bias news networks, why can’t the middle east?
"Agenda setting, biased reporting..." News piece about journalistic bias in Al Jazeera.
References
Ackerman, S 2001, ‘The most biased name in news’, retrieved 15 August, <http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1067/>
El-Nawawy, M. 2003, ‘The battle for the Arab mind’, Al-Jazeera, the story of the network that is rattling governments and redefining modern journalism 2003, Westview Press, Boulder CO, pp. 45-69, 217-218
Turner, J 2007, ‘The Messenger overwhelming the message: Ideological Cues and Perceptions of Bias in Television News’, Political Behavior, vol. 29, no. 4, p. 441-464, retrieved 15 August, Academic Search Complete
I completely agree. We judge Al-Jazeera by Western standards and think it’s biased if it is non-Western, yet our media is often just as biased. You’ve made great points, your writing is clear and you’ve used references well. You could perhaps use another photo or perhaps a video, but that’s not a big issue.
ReplyDeleteOur media is definitley biased, and presenting stories with a certain bias to relate to viewers/readers/etc seems okay, but how far is too far? I mean, is it okay that I get most of my American news from Stephen Colbert? Because I totally do that.
ReplyDeleteNice blog very well referenced and good use of imagery to back up your content. All media is essentially Bias and all stories are always portrayed as one sided or at very least in favor of one side but to what extent is what it really comes down too. I feel American news is however still more bias than Australian. I liked your blog it was good congrats
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that no media will ever be completely unbiased. I think you have raised an excellent point that many would be too afraid to publicly admit. However in saying that I do agree with the comment above in saying that American news is slightly more bias than Australian (although still very bias). I also really enjoyed reading your positive spin on 'bias' and how it is not always a bad thing. Well done, keep it up.
ReplyDeleteYour entry is really well written and i have to say that i completely agree with it. You raised some excellent points especially that of the fact that media cannot be without bias, especially american media it seems. Great references! Great Work!
ReplyDeleteI like how you take the subject of Al Jazeera and gave it a common link that we (being from a Western culture) can understand. The hyperlinks you posted are a good example and point to the larger issue of media bias which you cover well, and the image you posted backs this up. Your critique of Al Jazeera correspondent Walid Al-Omary is interesting and serves to neither acclaim nor denigrate him (nice job not showing any bias). To finish off by comparing and contrasting Al Jazeera to U.S networks is good in theory but understating the massive cultural differences between the two societies, but overall great job.
ReplyDeleteUnlike any news media broadcaster, this post is well-balanced and gives a fair opinion of the situation, especially regarding criticism that Al Jazeera is biased. In this case, you've shown both Al Jazeera and Western media are guilty of biased opinions, proving that neither is right and neither is wrong. I agree it's important that news be presented to its audience in a way that they can relate to, without some bias or greater sympathy for Arabs and Middle Eastern agendas Al Jazeera wouldn't get far.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post on a hugely controversial topic around the world, especially in relation to the coverage of the Iraq War. It is evident that networks are bias, but your notion that it is impossible to have a non-bias view is excellent as we all contain our own opinions. You’ve done well to point out the importance of networks such as Al Jazeera who provide an oppositional view on big issues in comparison to the dominant views of western society. Well done.
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