Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c47g7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T08:49:37.665Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An Interesting Bias: Lessons from an Academic's Year as a Reporter

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2012

David Niven
David Niven
Affiliation:
University of Cincinnati
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Most rigorous studies conclude that there is no consistent partisan or ideological bias in the mainstream American news media. This suggests a natural but little-asked question: Why isn't there more bias in the media? A year spent working as a journalist suggests a possible answer: Advancing a political perspective does not help secure a place on the front page. Instead, the core incentive for a journalist is to be interesting. Interesting work that reveals the essence of a situation garners a more prominent spot in the newspaper and all its associated benefits. Because “interesting” sources are found on both the left and the right, among Republicans and Democrats, balance does not require a Solomonic commitment to fairness. Rather, balance can be achieved merely as a by-product of the effort to be interesting.

Type
Features
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , April 2012 , pp. 259 - 264
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barker, David, and Lawrence, Adam. 2006. “Media Favoritism and Presidential Nominations: Reviving the Direct Effects Model.” Political Communication 23 (1): 41–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, Andrew. 2007. “Press Coverage of Legislative Appeals by the President.” Political Research Quarterly 60 (4): 655–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayman, Steven, Elliott, Marc, Heritage, John, and Beckett, Megan. 2010. “A Watershed in White House Journalism: Explaining the Post-1968 Rise of Aggressive Presidential News.” Political Communication 27 (3): 229–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D'Alessio, Dave, and Allen, Mike. 2000. “Media Bias in Presidential Elections: A Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Communication 50 (4): 133–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisinger, Robert, Veenstra, Loring, and Koehn, John. 2007. “What Media Bias? Conservative and Liberal Labeling in Major U.S. Newspapers.” Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 12 (1): 17–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Entman, Robert, and Gross, Kimberly. 2008. “Race to Judgment: Stereotyping Media and Criminal Defendants.” Law and Contemporary Problems 71 (4): 93–133.Google Scholar
Eveland, William, and Shah, Dhavan. 2003. “The Impact of Individual and Interpersonal Factors on Perceived News Media Bias.” Political Psychology 24 (1): 101–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farnsworth, Stephen, and Lichter, S. Robert. 2005. “The Mediated Congress: Coverage of Capitol Hill in the New York Times and the Washington Post.” Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 10 (2): 94–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gans, Herbert. 1979. Deciding What's News. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Groeling, Tim, and Baum, Matthew. 2009. “Journalists Incentives and Media Coverage of Elite Foreign Policy Evaluations.” Conflict Management and Peace Science 26 (5): 437–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groseclose, Tim, and Milyo, Jeffrey. 2005. “A Measure of Media Bias.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 120 (4): 1191–1237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hewitt, Christopher. 1996. “Estimating the Number of Homeless: Media Misrepresentation of an Urban Problem.” Journal of Urban Affairs 18 (4): 431–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lichter, S. Robert, Rothman, Stanley, and Lichter, Linda. 1986. The Media Elite. Bethesda, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
Lippmann, Walter. 1922. Public Opinion. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Company.Google Scholar
Malcolm, Janet. 1990. The Journalist and the Murderer. New York: Vintage.Google Scholar
Morris, Jonathan. 2007. “Slanted Objectivity? Perceived Media Bias, Cable News Exposure, and Political Attitudes.” Social Science Quarterly 88 (3): 707–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niven, David. 1999. “Partisan Bias in the Media? A New Test.” Social Science Quarterly 80 (4): 847–58.Google Scholar
Niven, David. 2001. “Bias in the News: Partisanship and Negativity in Coverage of Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton.” Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 6 (3): 31–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niven, David. 2002. Tilt? The Search for Media Bias. Westport, CT: Praeger.Google Scholar
Niven, David. 2003. “Objective Evidence on Media Bias: Coverage of Congressional Party Switchers.” Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 80 (2): 311–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niven, David. 2004. “A Fair Test of Media Bias: Party, Race, and Gender in Coverage of the 1992 House Banking Scandal.” Polity 36 (4): 637–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niven, David. 2005. “An Economic Theory of Political Journalism.” Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 82 (2): 247–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niven, David, and Zilber, Jeremy. 1998. “What's Newt Doing in People Magazine? The Changing Effect of National Prominence in Congressional Elections.” Political Behavior 20 (3): 213–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, Thomas, and Donsbach, Wolfgang. 1996. “News Decisions: Journalists as Partisan Actors.” Political Communication 13 (4): 453–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pfau, Michael, Haigh, Michel, Gettle, Mitchell, Donnelly, Michael, Scott, Gregory, Warr, Dana, and Wittenberg, Elaine. 2004. “Embedding Journalists in Military Combat Units: Impact on Newspaper Story Frames and Tone.” Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 81 (1): 74–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosten, Leo. 1937. The Washington Correspondents. New York: Harcourt, Brace.Google Scholar
Schiffer, Adam. 2008. Conditional Press Influence in Politics. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Sigal, Leon. 1973. Reporters and Officials. Lexington, MA: DC Heath.Google Scholar
Steele, Janet. 1995. “Experts and the Operational Bias of Television News: The Case of the Persian Gulf War.” Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 72 (4): 799–812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sumpter, Randall, and Garner, Johny. 2007. “Telling the Columbia Story: Source Selection in News Accounts of a Shuttle Accident.” Science Communication 28 (4): 455–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuchman, Gaye. 1978. Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Van Aelst, Peter, Sehata, Adam, and Van Dalen, Arjen. 2010. “Members of Parliament: Equal Competitors for Media Attention? An Analysis of Personal Contacts between MPs and Political Journalists in Five European Countries.” Political Communication 27 (3): 310–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar