edited extract from What is Bias on HonestReporting.com
(http://www.honestreporting.com/a/What_is_Bias.asp)
Here are the “7 Violations of Media Objectivity”:
Misleading definitions and terminology.
Imbalanced reporting.
Opinions disguised as news.
Lack of context.
Selective omission.
Using true facts to draw false conclusions.
Distortion of facts.
See the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists, and additional resource material on media ethics,- courtesy of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Violation #1
Misleading Definitions and Terminology
By using terminology and definitions in a way that implies accepted fact, the media injects bias under the guise of objectivity.
EXAMPLE: In March 2001, two separate acts of terrorism occurred a few days apart, providing the opportunity to compare the media’s selective use of terminology. The BBC’s article on an IRA car bomb in London carries the headline “BBC bomb prompts terror warning,” and the word “terror” (or its derivatives) is used 5 other times in the article. The IRA alerted police ahead of time, and one man was slightly injured in the blast.
But after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed three Israeli civilians (without prior warning) in Netanya, the BBC purposely avoided the label “terrorist,” and instead used the far milder term “militants.”
Violation #2
Imbalanced Reporting
Media reports frequently skew the picture by presenting only one side of the story.
EXAMPLE: In February 2001, Deborah Sontag of the New York Times and Suzanne Goldenberg of the Guardian (UK) both reported on the opening of a new exhibit in the West Bank town of Ramallah dedicated to the memories of 100 Palestinian “martyrs.”
Curiously, both reporters use nearly identical language in their reports:
SONTAG: “Israeli critics would say that the exhibit, ‘100 Martyrs - 100 Lives,’ glorifies death and encourages the cult of the shaheed, or martyr.”
GOLDENBERG: “Israeli critics would argue that the exhibit glorifies violent death, and promotes a cult of martyrdom.”
Issues of plagiarism aside, what is most disturbing is the way both Sontag and Goldenberg assume what Israelis critics “would say” – had the reporter bothered to ask. Media watchdog smartertimes.com, wrote about the Sontag piece: “Israeli critics ‘would say’ that, if they had actually been called or quoted by the Times, rather than having their criticisms assumed. Funny how the Arabs in the article are interviewed and allowed to speak for themselves, rather than having their views summarized by a reporter estimating what they ‘would say’ had the reporter bothered go to the effort to ask.”
EXAMPLE: CNN.com offers a list of web sites relating to the Middle East. Under the heading of “General Information Sites,” all 12 sites are Arab-related, including one specific Palestinian site. There are no Jewish or Israel-related sites listed in this category.
Violation #3
Opinions Disguised as News
An objective reporter should not use adjectives or adverbs, unless they are part of a quotation. Also, the source for any facts and opinions should be clear from the report, or alternatively it should be stated that source is intentionally undisclosed.
Even so-called “opinion pieces” must bear a modicum of objectivity. James Hill, the managing editor of the Washington Post Writers Group, writes:
“You have to hold columnists to the same standard as anyone at the newspaper. If a column writer is making egregious errors in the process of stating his or her opinion, eventually it’s not the columnist who’s doing that, it’s the paper that’s doing that.”
EXAMPLE: On February 7, 2001, “The Early Show” co-host Bryant Gumbel interviewed former Middle East envoy Dennis Ross about what Ariel Sharon’s election victory meant for the peace process. Gumbel abdicated his role of objective journalist by repeatedly asking Ross leading questions, loaded with venomous descriptions of Sharon. Gumbel said:
“But does he [Arafat] even have a chance with – with Sharon, when many objective observers view him as – as not only a racist, a terrorist, a murderous war criminal?”
Violation #4
Lack of Context
By failing to provide proper context and full background information, journalists can dramatically distort the true picture.
EXAMPLE: A BBC photo depicts two Palestinians, hands tied behind their backs, and kneeling on the ground. Standing over them is an Israeli soldier with a rifle pointed at their heads.
There is no context identifying this photo, just the benign caption “Tension has been high around the Jewish settlements.” But who are the Arabs in this photo? Did they just murder Jews in cold blood? Or were they innocently buying bread at the local market? BBC does not say. And why is the soldier pointing the gun? Is he guarding dangerous prisoners until reinforcements can arrive? Or is he about to blow off their heads at point-blank range? BBC lets the implication stand for itself.
Following reader complaints, BBC has since changed the caption to: “Israeli soldiers arrest Palestinian drivers in the West Bank.”
Violation #5
Selective Omission
By choosing to report certain events over others, the media controls access to information and manipulates public sentiment.
EXAMPLE: Ever since the violence began, media outlets routinely refer to the Intifada as being “sparked by Ariel Sharon’s provocative visit to the Temple Mount.” This is despite the admission by Palestinian Minister of Communications Imad el-Falouji that the Palestinian Authority pre-planned the outbreak of violence. As reported in the semi-governmental Beirut “Daily Star” (March 3, 2001):
“A Palestinian Cabinet minister said on Friday that the five-month-old uprising against Israel had been planned since the Camp David peace talks failed in July, contradicting past contentions of a spontaneous outburst from Palestinians on the street. Imad Faluji, the Palestinian National Authority’s Communications Minister, said during a PLO rally in Ain al-Hilweh refutifada, in which more than 400 people have been killed, was planned.”
However, a search of the entire CNN website for the name of the PA minister, Imad Falouji, reveals one lone reference, buried in three short paragraphs near the end of an article. Was the PA minister’s assertion that the Intifada was planned not newsy enough for CNN? And shouldn’t CNN stop referring to Sharon’s visit as “sparking the Intifada”?
Violation #6
Using True Facts To Draw False Conclusions
Media reports frequently use true facts to draw erroneous conclusions.
EXAMPLE: In February 2001, when Ariel Sharon was elected Israeli Prime Minister, the Christian Science Monitor tried to delegitimize the voters’ choice by claiming that voter turnout “was an unprecedentedly low 60 percent,” and claiming that “at least 62 percent of eligible Israeli voters did not vote for Sharon.”
In reality, only despotic countries like North Korea or Syria report 99 percent voter turnout. Truly free elections mean that citizens are also free not to vote. In the United States, only 51 percent of eligible voters participated in the 2000 presidential elections. This means that President George W. Bush received fewer than 25 percent of the eligible votes; additionally he did not even win the popular vote. To paraphrase Cobban’s calculation, “At least 75 percent of eligible American voters did not vote for Bush.” In years when only congressional elections are held, American voter turnout drops to 36-38 percent. But no one makes such charges undermining the American president’s authority or legitimacy.
Violation #7
Distortion of Facts
In today’s competitive media world, reporters frequently do not have the time, inclination or resources to properly verify information before submitting a story for publication.
EXAMPLE: The New York Times, Associated Press and other major media outlets published a photo of a young man – bloodied and battered – crouching beneath a club-wielding Israeli policeman. The caption identified him as a Palestinian victim of the recent riots – with the clear implication that the Israeli soldier is the one who beat him.
In fact, the bloodied “Palestinian” depicted in the photograph was Tuvia Grossman, a 20-year-old Jewish student from Chicago, studying in Jerusalem. And the assailants were not Israelis, but members of a Palestinian mob who beat and stabbed Grossman mercilessly for 10 minutes. And the infuriated Israeli policeman with a baton was deterring the Palestinians from finishing their lynching.
In 2001, HonestReporting.com nominated BBC as the most biased reporter in the world.