"In the past few years, the US has witnessed many major events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the January 6th riots on the US capitol, and most recently, the escalation of the Israel and Palestine conflict. All of these events have gotten much attention from the media. There are journalists and news organizations all over the world that have been covering these events, that are in turn, read by people from all over the world. " -- Mila Boyden, 8th Grade
In the past few years, the US has witnessed many major events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the January 6th riots on the US capitol, and most recently the escalation of the Israel and Palestine conflict. All of these events have gotten much attention from the media. There are journalists and news organizations all over the world that have been covering these events, that are in turn, read by people from all over the world.
According to a research article written by Boston University Library, ”Newspapers and news magazines have a choice in both how they report events and where they position them, signaling to readers the relative importance of a particular event in the news cycle. You can tell a lot about a news publication's political leanings from what they publish; where they place the event (front page or buried on page 12); and which editorial columns they choose to run, among other criteria.”
The Israel and Palestine Conflict is one of the most debated conflicts in the world right now. There have been countless news articles and media posts about this conflict. But is the media coverage accurate? Are both sides having the same amount of media coverage?
Thousands of newspapers across the world have written articles about this conflict, but not all of these articles are telling the whole story. Since the US has strong economic and historical ties with Israel, most US news stories focus more on Israel's narrative rather than giving an equal amount of attention to both sides of the conflict.
Biased new companies and journalists can cause readers to form unconscious biases and believe things that may not be true. Many newspapers, journalists, and broadcasters have been called out due to this issue.
“I think that trustworthy news is important because that's how we learn things,” said Zanthe Jones-Gerachis, an 8th grader attending the Literary Arts program at OSA. “It’s a good thing to be able to build trust in what you are reading. You should be able to believe it and be correctly informed on things so that you can form your own opinions and ideas that are based on truth,” Jones-Gerachis continued.
So what is biased journalism, and why is it so common? Biased journalism has been around since journalism was created. It’s very hard to have journalism without bias because it’s in human nature to have thoughts that are very opinionated.
When asked why so many news articles contain bias, Jordan Karnes, head of the Literary Arts program at OSA and a journalism teacher explained that it was, “because we are human. We live in a world where there is so much structural racism built into our ideas about the way things work. It’s because this is so embedded in us. And even when I look at the Israel and Palestine conflict, the United States have been such a diehard Israel ally for so long, I think that it’s so embedded in the way we [US journalists] tell the story. And there's such a broader scope to the story. It’s a human thing to do, a very Western thing to do, and it's built into our hierarchies. I don’t think that it’s an impossible thing to get out of, but it can get very rote.”
It’s important to understand what biases there might be politically and economically when reading articles about conflicts, and understanding that many newspapers might only be telling one narrative.
Biased journalism doesn’t necessarily mean fake news. A reporter could write a story using true facts and events but leave out some details that can make the article biased. A journalist could focus on one thing instead of telling the reader the whole picture.
“I think it’s tricky, I mean I trust them [newspapers] because I’m usually reading newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, etc which are all considered “newsworthy.” But I think the thing that I have a problem with sometimes is what they emphasize, and what the story is focusing on, and what they're not telling,” said Karnes. So I don’t necessarily feel like they are being dishonest, but I think they tend to give attention to some things rather than other things, and that can be frustrating as a reader. Knowing that, yes this is accurate, however I know that there’s so much more going on,” Karnes continued..
Some articles may be unconsciously biased while other articles and news sites are purposely biased and try to create biased readers.
The way that things are worded in articles may not seem like a big deal, but can easily sway a reader's perspective. While reading an article and scanning for any signs of bias you have to notice the smallest little things because those are the ones that can make a big difference.
For example, in an article written by Gulcin Kazan Doger titled British journalist accuses Western media of bias in reporting on Israel-Palestine conflict, it states that “British journalist Harry Fear has accused Western media of exhibiting bias in its coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying that they were "overarching storytelling"... Fear, known for directing the 2019 documentary, Gaza: Still Alive, critiqued the language used by mainstream Western media while reporting.”
“Singling out the BBC and other reputed media organizations for their choice of words when covering the Gaza conflict, Fear said the British public broadcaster used distinct terminology in its reporting, referring to those killed in Gaza as "died," and those in Israel as "killed.",” the article continued.
There is always going to be bias in the world, but it should never be held in the news. Newspapers should be reliable sources of information about what is going on in the world and hold no bias or false claims that could cause readers to be biased without them knowing.
Everyone should have access to trustworthy news because if you don’t have that, how will you know about anything? How will you be able to make your own opinions and thoughts? Students and teachers alike all feel that trustworthy, unbiased news is one of, if not the most important things in the world.
“Yes, news you can trust is so important because being informed about what's going on in the world is one of the most important things. You don’t want to spread false news.”
Karnes explained that trustworthy news “Is all we've got. Journalism is such an important part of democracy. If we can’t trust that our journalists are telling us accurate stories about world events, about politics in our own countries, who else is going to hold powers accountable?
According to a research article written by Boston University Library, ”Newspapers and news magazines have a choice in both how they report events and where they position them, signaling to readers the relative importance of a particular event in the news cycle. You can tell a lot about a news publication's political leanings from what they publish; where they place the event (front page or buried on page 12); and which editorial columns they choose to run, among other criteria.”
The Israel and Palestine Conflict is one of the most debated conflicts in the world right now. There have been countless news articles and media posts about this conflict. But is the media coverage accurate? Are both sides having the same amount of media coverage?
Thousands of newspapers across the world have written articles about this conflict, but not all of these articles are telling the whole story. Since the US has strong economic and historical ties with Israel, most US news stories focus more on Israel's narrative rather than giving an equal amount of attention to both sides of the conflict.
Biased new companies and journalists can cause readers to form unconscious biases and believe things that may not be true. Many newspapers, journalists, and broadcasters have been called out due to this issue.
“I think that trustworthy news is important because that's how we learn things,” said Zanthe Jones-Gerachis, an 8th grader attending the Literary Arts program at OSA. “It’s a good thing to be able to build trust in what you are reading. You should be able to believe it and be correctly informed on things so that you can form your own opinions and ideas that are based on truth,” Jones-Gerachis continued.
So what is biased journalism, and why is it so common? Biased journalism has been around since journalism was created. It’s very hard to have journalism without bias because it’s in human nature to have thoughts that are very opinionated.
When asked why so many news articles contain bias, Jordan Karnes, head of the Literary Arts program at OSA and a journalism teacher explained that it was, “because we are human. We live in a world where there is so much structural racism built into our ideas about the way things work. It’s because this is so embedded in us. And even when I look at the Israel and Palestine conflict, the United States have been such a diehard Israel ally for so long, I think that it’s so embedded in the way we [US journalists] tell the story. And there's such a broader scope to the story. It’s a human thing to do, a very Western thing to do, and it's built into our hierarchies. I don’t think that it’s an impossible thing to get out of, but it can get very rote.”
It’s important to understand what biases there might be politically and economically when reading articles about conflicts, and understanding that many newspapers might only be telling one narrative.
Biased journalism doesn’t necessarily mean fake news. A reporter could write a story using true facts and events but leave out some details that can make the article biased. A journalist could focus on one thing instead of telling the reader the whole picture.
“I think it’s tricky, I mean I trust them [newspapers] because I’m usually reading newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, etc which are all considered “newsworthy.” But I think the thing that I have a problem with sometimes is what they emphasize, and what the story is focusing on, and what they're not telling,” said Karnes. So I don’t necessarily feel like they are being dishonest, but I think they tend to give attention to some things rather than other things, and that can be frustrating as a reader. Knowing that, yes this is accurate, however I know that there’s so much more going on,” Karnes continued..
Some articles may be unconsciously biased while other articles and news sites are purposely biased and try to create biased readers.
The way that things are worded in articles may not seem like a big deal, but can easily sway a reader's perspective. While reading an article and scanning for any signs of bias you have to notice the smallest little things because those are the ones that can make a big difference.
For example, in an article written by Gulcin Kazan Doger titled British journalist accuses Western media of bias in reporting on Israel-Palestine conflict, it states that “British journalist Harry Fear has accused Western media of exhibiting bias in its coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying that they were "overarching storytelling"... Fear, known for directing the 2019 documentary, Gaza: Still Alive, critiqued the language used by mainstream Western media while reporting.”
“Singling out the BBC and other reputed media organizations for their choice of words when covering the Gaza conflict, Fear said the British public broadcaster used distinct terminology in its reporting, referring to those killed in Gaza as "died," and those in Israel as "killed.",” the article continued.
There is always going to be bias in the world, but it should never be held in the news. Newspapers should be reliable sources of information about what is going on in the world and hold no bias or false claims that could cause readers to be biased without them knowing.
Everyone should have access to trustworthy news because if you don’t have that, how will you know about anything? How will you be able to make your own opinions and thoughts? Students and teachers alike all feel that trustworthy, unbiased news is one of, if not the most important things in the world.
“Yes, news you can trust is so important because being informed about what's going on in the world is one of the most important things. You don’t want to spread false news.”
Karnes explained that trustworthy news “Is all we've got. Journalism is such an important part of democracy. If we can’t trust that our journalists are telling us accurate stories about world events, about politics in our own countries, who else is going to hold powers accountable?
