Detecting Bias

Complete this three part activity. Just click on the hyperlinked titles to find the articles.

Part One: Read these three articles about issues detecting bias:

1.Connotations and Denotations, Written by David Megginson. How does the

choice of words affect the meaning being conveyed?
2.How to Detect Bias in the News, from Canada’s award winning media awareness
education website

3.How To Detect Bias In News Media

Part Two: Read these following two newspaper articles. Consider the questions in the articles.
Write how each of these articles demonstrates bias in reporting and how historical
events are documented. If you wish, find two different articles that demonstrate
bias. Your instructor will need to approve your choices.

1. Hurricane Katrina and the "Two-Photo Controversy"

2. Canadian-made Censorhip

http://www.writingcentre.uottawa.ca/hypergrammar/conndeno.html

Connotations and Denotations

The relationship between words and meanings is extremely complicated, and belongs to the field
of semantics. For now, though, what you need to know is that words do not have single, simple
meanings. Traditionally, grammarians have referred to the meanings of words in two parts:

denotation
a literal meaning of the word
connotation
an association (emotional or otherwise) which the word evokes

For example, both "woman" and "chick" have the denotation "adult female" in North American
society, but "chick" has somewhat negative connotations, while "woman" is neutral.

For another example of connotations, consider the following:

negative
There are over 2,000 vagrants in the city.
neutral
There are over 2,000 people with no fixed address in the city.
positive
There are over 2,000 homeless in the city.

All three of these expressions refer to exactly the same people, but they will invoke different
associations in the reader's mind: a "vagrant" is a public nuisance while a "homeless" person is a
worthy object of pity and charity. Presumably, someone writing an editorial in support of a new
shelter would use the positive form, while someone writing an editorial in support of anti-
loitering laws would use the negative form.

In this case, the dry legal expression "with no fixed address" quite deliberately avoids most of the
positive or negative associations of the other two terms -- a legal specialist will try to avoid
connotative language altogether when writing legislation, often resorting to archaic Latin or
French terms which are not a part of ordinary spoken English, and thus, relatively free of strong
emotional associations.

Many of the most obvious changes in the English language over the past few decades have had to
do with the connotations of words which refer to groups of people. Since the 1950's, words like
"Negro" and "crippled" have acquired strong negative connotations, and have been replaced
either by words with neutral connotations (ie "black," "handicapped") or by words with
deliberately positive connotations (ie "African-Canadian," "differently-abled").

Written by David Megginson

http://www.media-
awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/broadcast_news/bw_bias_in_the_news.cfm?
RenderForPrint=1

How to Detect Bias in the News

At one time or other we all complain about "bias in the news." The fact is, despite the
journalistic ideal of "objectivity," every news story is influenced by the attitudes and
background of its interviewers, writers, photographers and editors.

Not all bias is deliberate. But you can become a more aware news reader or viewer by
watching for the following journalistic techniques that allow bias to "creep in" to the
news:

Bias through selection and omission

An editor can express a bias by choosing to use or not to use a specific news item. Within
a given story, some details can be ignored, and others included, to give readers or viewers
a different opinion about the events reported. If, during a speech, a few people boo, the
reaction can be described as "remarks greeted by jeers" or they can be ignored as "a
handful of dissidents."

Bias through omission is difficult to detect. Only by comparing news reports from a wide
variety of outlets can the form of bias be observed.

Bias through placement

Readers of papers judge first page stories to be more significant than those buried in the
back. Television and radio newscasts run the most important stories first and leave the
less significant for later. Where a story is placed, therefore, influences what a reader or
viewer thinks about its importance.

Bias by headline

Many people read only the headlines of a news item. Most people scan nearly all the
headlines in a newspaper. Headlines are the most-read part of a paper. They can
summarize as well as present carefully hidden bias and prejudices. They can convey
excitement where little exists. They can express approval or condemnation.

Bias by photos, captions and camera angles

Some pictures flatter a person, others make the person look unpleasant. A paper can
choose photos to influence opinion about, for example, a candidate for election. On
television, the choice of which visual images to display is extremely important. The
captions newspapers run below photos are also potential sources of bias.

Bias through use of names and titles

News media often use labels and titles to describe people, places, and events. A person
can be called an "ex-con" or be referred to as someone who "served time twenty years
ago for a minor offense." Whether a person is described as a "terrorist" or a "freedom
fighter" is a clear indication of editorial bias.

Bias through statistics and crowd counts

To make a disaster seem more spectacular (and therefore worthy of reading about),
numbers can be inflated. "A hundred injured in aircrash" can be the same as "only minor
injuries in air crash," reflecting the opinion of the person doing the counting.

Bias by source control

To detect bias, always consider where the news item "comes from." Is the information
supplied by a reporter, an eyewitness, police or fire officials, executives, or elected or
appointed government officials? Each may have a particular bias that is introduced into
the story. Companies and public relations directors supply news outlets with puffpieces
through news releases, photos or videos. Often news outlets depend on pseudo-events
(demonstrations, sit-ins, ribbon cuttings, speeches and ceremonies) that take place mainly
to gain news coverage.

Word choice and tone

Showing the same kind of bias that appears in headlines, the use of positive or negative
words or words with a particular connotation can strongly influence the reader or viewer.
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=121

How To Detect Bias In News Media

Media have tremendous power in setting cultural guidelines and in shaping political discourse. It
is essential that news media, along with other institutions, are challenged to be fair and accurate.
The first step in challenging biased news coverage is documenting bias. Here are some questions
to ask yourself about newspaper, TV and radio news.

Who are the sources?

Be aware of the political perspective of the sources used in a story. Media over-rely on "official"
(government, corporate and establishment think tank) sources. For instance, FAIR found that in
40 months of Nightline programming, the most frequent guests were Henry Kissinger, Alexander
Haig, Elliott Abrams and Jerry Falwell. Progressive and public interest voices were grossly
underrepresented.

To portray issues fairly and accurately, media must broaden their spectrum of sources. Otherwise,
they serve merely as megaphones for those in power

 Count the number of corporate and government sources versus the number of
progressive, public interest, female and minority voices. Demand mass media expand their
rolodexes; better yet, give them lists of progressive and public interest experts in the
community.

Is there a lack of diversity?

What is the race and gender diversity at the news outlet you watch compared to the communities
it serves? How many producers, editors or decision-makers at news outlets are women, people of
color or openly gay or lesbian? In order to fairly represent different communities, news outlets
should have members of those communities in decision-making positions.

How many of the experts these news outlets cite are women and people of color? FAIR's 40-
month survey of Nightline found its U.S. guests to be 92 percent white and 89 percent male. A
similar survey of PBS's NewsHour found its guestlist was 90 percent white and 87 percent male.

 Demand that the media you consume reflect the diversity of the public they serve. Call or
write media outlets every time you see an all-male or all-white panel of experts discussing
issues that affect women and people of color.
From whose point of view is the news reported?

Political coverage often focuses on how issues affect politicians or corporate executives rather
than those directly affected by the issue. For example, many stories on parental notification of
abortion emphasized the "tough choice" confronting male politicians while quoting no women
under 18--those with the most at stake in the debate. Economics coverage usually looks at how
events impact stockholders rather than workers or consumers.

 Demand that those affected by the issue have a voice in coverage.

Are there double standards?

Do media hold some people to one standard while using a different standard for other groups?
Youth of color who commit crimes are referred to as "superpredators," whereas adult criminals
who commit white-collar crimes are often portrayed as having been tragically been led astray.
Think tanks partly funded by unions are often identified as "labor-backed" while think tanks
heavily funded by business interests are usually not identified as "corporate-backed."

 Expose the double standard by coming up with a parallel example or citing similar
stories that were covered differently.

Do stereotypes skew coverage?

Does coverage of the drug crisis focus almost exclusively on African Americans, despite the fact
that the vast majority of drug users are white? Does coverage of women on welfare focus
overwhelmingly on African-American women, despite the fact that the majority of welfare
recipients are not black? Are lesbians portrayed as "man-hating" and gay men portrayed as
"sexual predators" (even though a child is 100 times more likely to be molested by a family
member than by an unrelated gay adult—Denver Post, 9/28/92)?

 Educate journalists about misconceptions involved in stereotypes, and about how

stereotypes characterize individuals unfairly.

What are the unchallenged assumptions?

Often the most important message of a story is not explicitly stated. For instance, in coverage of
women on welfare, the age at which a woman had her first child will often be reported—the
implication being that the woman's sexual "promiscuity," rather than institutional economic
factors, are responsible for her plight.

Coverage of rape trials will often focus on a woman's sexual history as though it calls her
credibility into question. After the arrest of William Kennedy Smith, a New York Times article
(4/17/91) dredged up a host of irrelevant personal details about his accuser, including the facts
that she had skipped classes in the 9th grade, had received several speeding tickets and-when on a
date-had talked to other men.
Is the language loaded?

When media adopt loaded terminology, they help shape public opinion. For instance, media often
use the right-wing buzzword "racial preference" to refer to affirmative action programs. Polls
show that this decision makes a huge difference in how the issue is perceived: A 1992 Louis
Harris poll, for example, found that 70 percent said they favored "affirmative action" while only
46 percent favored "racial preference programs."

 Challenge the assumption directly. Often bringing assumptions to the surface will demonstrate
their absurdity. Most reporters, for example, will not say directly that a woman deserved to be
raped because of what she was wearing.

 Demonstrate how the language chosen gives people an inaccurate impression of the issue,
program or community.

Is there a lack of context?

Coverage of so-called "reverse discrimination" usually fails to focus on any of the institutional
factors which gives power to prejudice—such as larger issues of economic inequality and
institutional racism. Coverage of hate speech against gays and lesbians often fails to mention
increases in gay-bashing and how the two might be related.

 Provide the context. Communicate to the journalist, or write a letter to the editor that
includes the relevant information.

Do the headlines and stories match?

Usually headlines are not written by the reporter. Since many people just skim headlines,
misleading headlines have a significant impact. A classic case: In a New York Times article on the
June 1988 U.S.-Soviet summit in Moscow, Margaret Thatcher was quoted as saying of Reagan,
"Poor dear, there's nothing between his ears." The Times headline: "Thatcher Salute to the Reagan
Years."

 Call or write the newspaper and point out the contradiction.

Are stories on important issues featured prominently?

Look at where stories appear. Newspaper articles on the most widely read pages (the front pages
and the editorial pages) and lead stories on television and radio will have the greatest influence on
public opinion.

 When you see a story on government officials engaged in activities that violate the
Constitution on page A29, call the newspaper and object. Let the paper know how
important you feel an issue is and demand that important stories get prominent coverage.
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/teachable_moments/katrina_2_photo.cfm

Hurricane Katrina and the "Two-Photo Controversy"

After Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, two photographs published by Yahoo! News
depicting residents making their way through chest-deep water caused an uproar relating to bias
in media coverage. The first image, shot by photographer Dave Martin for the Associated Press,
showed a young black man, who, according to the accompanying caption, “walks through chest
deep flood water after looting a grocery store.” In a similar shot, taken by photographer Chris
Graythen for AFP/Getty Images, a white couple was shown wading "through chest-deep water
after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store.”

It is Yahoo!’s policy to use photo captions that are provided by the photographers and not edit
them before posting the images online.1 These captions caused many to question whether black
people were being treated fairly in media coverage of post-hurricane events.
In response to the ensuing controversy, the journalists associated with the photos claimed that it
was not an issue of race, but rather a question of semantics over the terms ‘looting’ as opposed to
‘finding’. According to Jack Stokes, the director of media relations for AP, Dave Martin, the
photographer of the first picture, personally witnessed the subject of his photograph entering a
grocery store and leaving with items, thus witnessing the man looting. 2 Whereas the photographer
of the second photo, Chris Graythen, didn’t witness the subjects of his photograph taking the
goods. “I wrote the caption about the two people who 'found' the items. I believed in my opinion,
that they did simply find them, and not 'looted' them in the definition of the word. The people
were swimming in chest deep water, and there were other people in the water, both white and
black. I looked for the best picture. There were a million items floating in the water — we were
right near a grocery store that had 5+ feet of water in it. It had no doors. The water was moving,
and the stuff was floating away. These people were not ducking into a store and busting down
windows to get electronics. They picked up bread and cokes that were floating in the water. They
would have floated away anyhow.”3

For Discussion

 Compare the terms “looting” and “finding”. What images come to mind when we hear or
use these words? What implications are associated with each word?

 What challenges do journalists face in reporting the news? How do these challenges
change in times of traumatic events? How does this relate to situations when you are
required to provide context in describing a event?
 Typically, photos and images help provide clarity rather than confusion. Why do you
think this case was different?
 For, what reasons (both unintentional and intentional) do you think bias can occur in
news reporting? What other examples can you think of in which bias has occurred in
media coverage of this or similar events?
 Based on the reactions to these pictures, what recommendations would you give Yahoo!
and other news media for handling accompanying captions?
 Compare the following two post-hurricane photos (see next page). In light of the two
photos previously discussed, what comments would you make about these pictures and
their accompanying captions.
As one person looks through their shopping bag, Looters hit a drug store in the French Quarter
left, another jumps through a broken window, while district of New Orleans in New Orleans,
leaving a convenience store on the I-10 service Louisuana, following Hurricane Katrina. Fresh
road south, in Metairie, La., Tuesday, Aug. 30, floods, fires and looting rode in the destructive
2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This wake of Hurricane Katrina, deepening a
photo was taken during a helicopter tour of the humanitarian crises that left hundreds feared
area that included the governor of Louisiana. (AP dead and sections of New Orleans submerged
Photo/Bill Feig, Pool) to the rooftops. (AFP/James Nielson)
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1007417--canadian-made-censorship

Canadian-made censorship
Published On Sun Jun 12 2011
Nicki Thomas and Amy Dempsey Staff Reporters

Web-filtering software developed in Canada is being used in the Middle East to censor
the Internet, according to the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab.

Netsweeper Inc., a leading developer of content-filtering software based in Guelph, lists

telecommunications companies in Yemen, Qatar and United Arab Emirates among its
foreign clients.

According to the company’s promotional material, its software blocks websites using a
“list of 90+ categories to meet government rules and regulations — based on social,
religious or political ideals.”

“It’s no doubt a great market opportunity for them,” said Ronald Deibert, who heads the
Citizen Lab, which examines human rights in the digital era, at the Munk School of
Global Affairs.

The Citizen Lab, which is part of the OpenNet Initiative — a collaboration with
Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society and Ottawa's SecDev Group — has
conducted extensive research on Internet filtering and surveillance practices.

“There are a lot of governments out there interested in blocking access to all sorts of
content from their citizens,” Deibert said. “And many of them do so with respect to
human rights content, opposition, gay and lesbian content, all of which is being nicely
categorized and blocked by Netsweeper.”

Web-filtering technology was developed in the 1990s as a way to restrict access to

pornography, among other things. It is commonly used to block access to specified
websites in many Canadian schools, libraries and businesses.

But beyond our borders that same technology is being used to quash social media-spurred
uprisings in the Middle East — and the companies providing the software have come
under fire for being the means through which foreign governments repress free speech
online.

California-based Websense Inc. was among the first to be hit with criticism over the
issue. Two years ago, OpenNet found that Yemen was using the company’s filtering
software to block privacy tools.

Websense responded by developing an anti-censorship policy that states it does not sell
its software to service providers involved in government-imposed censorship.
“On rare occasions things can slip through the cracks,” the company said in a 2009
statement.

According to the Citizen Lab, Netsweeper took over where Websense left off.

Netsweeper spokesman Scott O’Neill said that while he disagrees with Citizen Lab’s
portrayal of the company, it has adopted a “no comment policy” on the issue.

“There’s no good conversation for us to have,” he said.

O’Neill added that Netsweeper doesn’t sell its software to governments but to
telecommunications firms, though he wouldn’t be specific.

Other companies that have been found to be providing content-filtering software used by
foreign governments to restrict Internet access — like McAfee Inc. and Blue Coat
Systems Inc. — have said they can’t control how customers use their products.

The global web security market, which includes filtering, was valued at $1.8 billion in
2010 and is a fast-growing industry that is predicted to reach $2.5 billion by 2013,
according to market-research firm IDC.

According to Open Net, Netsweeper provides filtering software to three national Internet
service providers in the Middle East: Qatar’s Qtel, UAE’s du, and Yemen’s YemenNet.

Netsweeper is currently blocking Tumblr in Yemen, where pro-democracy protests have

deteriorated into a fierce battle for power. The software categorizes the popular blogging
platform as pornographic.

Canada does not have legislation that restricts the sale of web-filtering technology, but
anti-censorship advocates say companies should be responsible for monitoring how their
software is used.

Ibrahim Mothana, a 22-year-old activist living in Sana’a called it “paradoxical” that a

Canadian company would contribute to widespread government censorship there.

“It shows a great deal of inconsistency ... in dealing with values of freedom and human
rights,” he said in an email to the Star, adding that dozens of sites are down in Yemen,
including Tumblr.

“It’s another case where first-world countries are dealing with ... countries like Yemen
just in the opposite way they preach.”

Deibert said the issue goes beyond a single company to a larger public policy question.
“Do we want to allow Canadian companies to market services and products that are in
violation of human rights abroad?” he said. “If this was an American company, they’d be
on the precipice of having their services outlawed.”

Awareness and action on the issue is much more advanced across the border, Deibert
said. In the U.S., the proposed Global Online Freedom Act seeks to “prevent United
States businesses from cooperating with repressive governments in transforming the
Internet into a tool of censorship and surveillance.”