Running Head: SUPPORTING THE REDUCTION OF FAKE NEWS 1

Supporting the Reduction of Media Bias

Disinformation and Sensationalism in the United States

James Hansen

Rio Salado College

SUPPORTING THE REDUCTION OF FAKE NEWS 2

Abstract

Widespread adoption of the internet at large has greatly changed the way that news is created and

consumed. Back when print media and the nightly local news were the primary sources of news,

institutional journalism stood as a pillar, only treating the stories they published with the highest

standards of political correctness and excellence. But recently, with the advent of the 24/7 news

cycle and the increased appetite of the public, journalistic standards and news quality have

declined to a state where speed and excitement are incentivized at the cost of fact-checking and

verification. While there are multiple types of spin mass media can put on a story to have it

contribute to the epidemic of fake news, perhaps the most damning are media bias,

disinformation, and sensationalism. If nothing is done to combat the fake news plaguing the

American media space, the political world can only become further destabilized. Furthermore,

the recent trends of sensationalism, disinformation and bias in mass media are harming the trust

the American people hold in the media. To ensure the ability of Americans to make informed

decisions about their political future, the media must cease the deception of citizens perception

of current events.

Keywords: media bias, disinformation, sensationalism, journalism, fake news

SUPPORTING THE REDUCTION OF FAKE NEWS 3

Supporting the Reduction of Media Bias

Disinformation and Sensationalism in the United States

Widespread adoption of the internet at large has greatly changed the way that news is

created and consumed. As opposed to relying on print media, society now relies on sources such

as television and social media for its daily news. Furthermore, the majority of readers now rely

on headlines as opposed to reading full-length content. This progression has moved the media

away from investigative journalism that slowly but reliably produces realistic headlines, and

towards tabloid journalism which quickly produces eccentric and spun headlines. These

headlines, are often produced for the purpose of generating interest for their target audience and

therefore more revenue while these dont contribute much, they are generally innocent. The

damage comes when headlines are purposefully manipulated so as to influence the opinions of

the audience. Soroka, Stecula, and Wlezien (2014) also found that manipulated coverage

reflects a change in the future economy. These recent trends of sensationalism, disinformation

and bias in mass media are harming the ability of Americans to make informed decisions and the

trust they hold in their media; to ensure these abilities, the American people must become aware

of this inauthenticity and the media must cease the deception of citizens perception of current

events.

Contrary to popular belief, the humble beginnings of American journalism were not so

humble at all and were based on partisan politics. Bias was not only the accepted standard, but

the consensus of the public viewed unbiased media as nefarious. There is consensus that these

publications were expressly established and existed to reflect the opinions of their owners and

publishers (Achbar, Abbott, and Bakah, 2003). Then in the early 1800s, penny papers altered

the media landscape by providing the middle class with cheap, informative and entertaining
SUPPORTING THE REDUCTION OF FAKE NEWS 4

newsprints. Later in the early 1900s, radio further developed unbiased news by providing a

medium to circumvent the biased media and cater straight to the public. The FCC also passed the

Fairness Doctrine, guaranteeing equal airtime to both political sides so as to further decrease the

level of bias. In the mid to late 1980s, media underwent another transformation as television

networks were bought up and transformed into 24/7 all-news networks. In the meantime, the

FCC rescinded the Fairness Doctrine, bringing public trust in the media to an all-time low. As

public perception of the media fell going into the 21st century and Americans grew more

bewildered, the media landscape became a safe haven for pundits and analysts who combined

journalism and opinion, creating a nebulous media environment. According to Mark Hewitt

(2016), no news or story from the mainstream media [could] ever be trusted or considered. The

culture became a divided world split between unbiased investigative journalism and partisan

media.

Back when print media and the 6 oclock news were the primary and only sources of

news, institutional journalism stood as a powerful yet humble guardian of the hoi polloi, treating

distributed information with the highest standards of political excellence. But recently, with the

advent of the 24/7 news cycle and the appetite of the public, journalistic standards and news

quality has declined, where non-sequiturs are now common. This has become particularly clear

as an unprecedented number of Americans view the news media as biased and untrustworthy

(Kiener, 2013). Perhaps one of the most basic and general types of bias is framing, the

arrangement of a pitch or story to sway an audience to one side or another. Lionel (2016) agrees

that the way a story is framed is one of the most effective ways to distract from the truth. For

example, if a story is headed Cat saved from housefire with only minor injuries by local

firefighters, it depicts a positive story for the local firefighters. If the story was instead headed,
SUPPORTING THE REDUCTION OF FAKE NEWS 5

Cat injured by local firefighters in routine rescue, the firefighters are now painted that they had

no positive effect as it is bolder that they were pejorative. This effect, generally intentionally but

occasionally perfunctory, translates just as well to politics, where the consequences of such spin

are much more real.

If nothing is done to combat the fake news plaguing the American media space, the

political world could only become further destabilized. One consequence could be the

furtherment of a lack of democracy in the country. This suspicion is supported by experts who

question the future of U.S. democracy due to voter indecision (Kiener, 2013). A legitimate

democracy assumes that the general population is not only reliably, but also truthfully informed.

An environment where fake news is prevalent undermines this as it impinges the publics

perception of the truth. It moves the public in ways it may not have moved on its own,

synthesizing the democracy of the country and in the end having it controlled by the media. This

has been evident in recent political elections and other political controversies, as according to

Mark Hewitt (2016), the media would never acknowledge some facts even if they were beat over

the head with them. Fake news could also mean the end of credible media. As the sensationalist

mass media collects viewers and revenue from its gaudy stories, legitimate media which may not

have constant news is sidelined. According to Eric Alterman (2004), Journalists usually treat

anything as true if someone in a position of ostensible authority is willing to say it. . . . The

accuracy of anyones statement, particularly if that person is a public official, is often deemed

irrelevant. Also, as the media landscape evolves, certain tactics such as online access, and

meretricious ads and headlines, may become necessary for a news source to remain in business,

only further regressing the effort to promote credible news.

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An effective short-term solution to this problem would be the publics recognition of

credible media and refutation of exaggerated and false media. While it tends to be easier to act

sanguine than to actually execute, as media differences can be recondite, this can begin with

ratiocination by recognizing and supporting credible sources of media which provide unbiased,

investigative coverage such as The Associated Press and National Public Radio. This can also be

done by taking in a redundant amount of news from a variety of sources and juxtaposing the

coverage of networks. Lionel (2016) stated in relation to this that in the old days, we used to

hold the media to a really high standard. . . . Where did that go? We need that back. The public

then must support these sources so they are able to continue providing their services to the

public. The public must also learn to identify media sources that tend to exploit the end user for

their benefit, whether its through political or financial manipulation such as Breitbart and

Addicting Info. Eric Alterman (2004) points out that some journalists believe they dont have to

adjudicate their sources, which gives all the more reason to identify media that should not be

deemed credible. The public, though it may jest at the idea of not watching the news they tend to

enjoy, must refrain from supporting these news sources. Lastly, the public must learn to accept

balanced media. It may be a stark transition to begin hearing regularly unbiased news if before

the audience member was simply being regaled with what they enjoyed hearing. This so they

may become a more sapient and politically tooled member of society.

One of the most effective and long-lasting solutions to this problem would be the mass

medias cease of providing the public with disinformation, biased news and sensationalized

news. If the national media were to cease its practices, a quiddity in this resolution, the public

would receive reliable, unbiased news, and would then be able to freely and accurately form

opinions about the world around them. The public would also then be able to watch the news
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source of their preference without worrying if it would affect what they hear. This would obviate

fact that currently, polls show that 80 percent of Americans believe that news stories are

significantly affected by overreach from bureaucratic leaders (Kiener, 2013). Of course, this

would never work on its own- this is why networks, as well as the public must work to keep

media outlets accountable. By forming news coalitions, disenfranchising unreliable news and

recanting and support from and rebuking sources which try to take advantage of their audiences,

the community acts almost as a Neighborhood Watch for news, protecting each other. Support

for this is further progressed by Soroka, Stecula and Wlezien (2014) who affirm that there is a

definite link between economic condition and attitudes about government policy. This comes as

the public all collectively holds the unfortunate onus of ensuring the news is legitimate.

The recent trends of sensationalism, disinformation and bias in mass media are harming

the trust the American people hold in the media. To ensure the ability of Americans to make

informed decisions, the media must cease the deception of citizens perception of current events.
SUPPORTING THE REDUCTION OF FAKE NEWS 8

References

Achbar, M., Abbott J., Bakan J. (2003) About the Film. The Corporation. Big Picture Media

Corporation.

Alterman E. (2004) Basic Books. What Liberal Media?: The Truth About Bias and the News.

Hewitt, A. M. (2016). The Insidious Power of the Media Disinformation Campaign for Hillary

Clinton. Retrieved from

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/06/the_insidious_power_of_the_media_di

sinformation_campaign_for_hillary_clinton.html

Kiener, R. (2013, May 3). Media bias. CQ Researcher, 23, 401-424. Retrieved from

http://library.cqpress.com/

Lebron, W. M. (Producer). (2016, December 29). Be a Liberty Ninja. How to Fight Against

Truth Tyranny and Media Disinformation. Video retrieved from http://www.youtube.com

Soroka, N. S., Stecula, A. D., Wlezien, C. (2014). It's (Change in) the (Future) Economy, Stupid:

Economic Indicators, the Media, and Public Opinion. American Journal of Political

Science, 35, 803-804.

Key

References Vocabulary