In the early days of newspaper publishing, the newspaper was often a venue for the publisher’s views and opinions. In today’s publishing environment, that is no longer the case. Today’s reporters avoid biased or slanted stories, instead aiming for balance.
Newspapers today must appeal to a wide audience. To do this, they cover all sides of stories, ensuring they attract readers from a large demographic base. It’s less likely today to find news reports that reflect individual views except on the opinion pages. However, newspapers are influenced by commercial and marketing issues.
Commercial Influence
With the cost of publishing a paper rising, and more people reading the news online, income from advertising is more important than ever. Thus, articles may be written in such a way that they won’t offend or put off a major advertiser.
Large conglomerates have power that penetrates many different sectors of the retail industry. If a newspaper receives a large share of advertising revenue from a conglomerate, the articles in that paper may be focused in a way that sheds a favorable light upon the many products of that advertiser.
Marketing Influence
An old adage says, “Sex and violence sells.” In the world of news reporting, shocking stories are often placed on the front page. A story of a bombing or of an attack by a serial rapist makes front-page news. In contrast, a story about a family that switches to a healthy lifestyle of low-fat eating and exercise will most likely not be featured on the front page.
Another story that sells newspapers is the crime story. A story robbery at gunpoint will get more print space in the paper than the story of the student that won a local award. People are attracted to news that is unusual and shocking, therefore, these types of stories are considered more newsworthy.
The journalist's goal is not only to present the news, but also to hook the readers. Once the readers are hooked, the journalist must keep them entertained, causing them to buy the paper. Journalists even create a following, a loyal base of readers, helping to maximize profits for the news publication.
Objective Journalism
Reporters and editors aim for balance in reporting. Yet, there are restrictions on the number of stories that can be included in each issue of the paper. The editor must make decisions about which reporters are assigned which stories, which stories are edited down, and which stories appear in the most prominent placements in the paper.
When a large story is breaking, such as presidential elections, that story overshadows any other news reports. Stories that capture the interest of the most readers are given more space, delegating a less important spot to other news.
These decisions are made based on a business model the newspapers follow in order to remain solvent. Stories are written objectively, but the decision about which stories get published and which stories get shelved gives the paper a bias based on the newspaper’s needs and goals.
How to Avoid Bias
One way to avoid news bias by reading widely. Read newspapers from all around the globe. With online news today, reports are available from many countries and regions. In addition, read local newspapers for stories that are closer to home. This will help to give a more balanced view of what is happening in the news.
Being aware of the different types of bias that can creep into newspapers helps the reader become more discerning. Reading widely will help give a better-developed view of what is actually happening in the world and how to analyze the news.
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