Problem
Distorted media presentations
Experimental visualization of narrower problems
Other Names:
Bias in the mediaBiased media coverage of news
Confiscation of news media
Nature:
The replacement of facts by inaccuracies or intentional untruths in news coverage is an example of how vulnerable the public is to the media. Other distortions occur by the use of stereotypes and perjorative adjectives in slanted interpretations; by the dilution of news coverage of significant events with irrelevant matters; by the invention of falsely described comprehensive reporting on a subject where there is incomplete knowledge; and by a number of other practices ranging from silence to useless information. Distortion affects the contents of all media and all messages, not just the news. It affects more than contents as well, for example: frequency, timing and continuity. In unscrupulous private or public control, the media is a tool for domination, as there are few regulations preventing distortion.
Broader Problems:
DistortionIdeological biasDeception in the mediaUnethical media practicesManipulation of the individual by mass media Narrower Problems:
Media cover-upFilm propagandaNews censorshipMedia politicization of international eventsPhotographic biasCulture of violenceBroadcasting propagandaNegative media reportingBiased presentation of newsNewspaper and journal propagandaDiscriminatory framing by the mediaExcessive politicization of the mediaParochial escapist media entertainmentExcessive portrayal of sex in the mediaBiased portrayal of women in mass mediaIntermittent media coverage of disastersExcessive portrayal of crime in the mediaBiased media-image of foreign groups and peoplesMedia theatricalization of public life and politicsExcessive portrayal of substance abuse in the mediaExcessive portrayal of terrorist activity in the mediaPolitical interference with television news coverage in capitalist countries Related Problems:
Fabricated quotationsPrivatization of justice Aggravates:
Media illiteracyPsychological inertiaInsufficient cultural mediaExploitation of cultural valuesDiscriminatory scientific languagePsychological pollution by mass mediaDecline in public interest broadcastingFalse positive representation to authorityUnethical practices relating to developmentChildren's misapprehension of reality in the mediaInequality-inducing effects of communications media Strategies:
Improving media image of developing countriesManaging newsReducing eurocentrismManaging information chaosUsing biasConfiscating news mediaDistorting media presentationsClarifying media presentations References:
Lee, Martin A and Solomon, Norman: Unreliable Sources: a guide to detecting bias in news media Subject(s):
Communication → MediaCommunication → News
Societal Problems → Deprivation
Societal Problems → Distortion
Societal Problems → Imbalances
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
D: Detailed problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST