Most journalists and broadcasters enter the profession with an innate passion for keeping people informed – although they probably don’t realize that the job has become a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week commitment. With the advent of digital communication, news media (newspapers, magazines, news blogs, TV and radio) can no longer be limited by time zones or press deadlines. Instead, they must keep pace with the public’s need for the latest, most compelling information.
The resulting emphasis on speed and quantity may have a hidden cost: the quality of news coverage. As a result, many stories lack in-depth reporting and may convey a biased or incomplete point of view. For example, in a recent news story about budget cuts, the CBS news program chose to highlight an angry exchange between a senator and the secretary of defense rather than explaining the secretary’s position or counterarguments.
Another source of bias is the way in which politicians and government officials are depicted in the media. In a study of six major news threads, the media cited official interpretations and actions in the first and last sentences of 63% of the stories.
This bias may contribute to a “heavy handed” approach to news coverage, in which the media flings its net over the most powerful and influential public figures. It’s not hard to see why public leaders, from former President Nixon to current Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, frequently cross swords with the media.