The Bias-Sphere

     One of my favorite protest signs I saw during the Occupy Movement (hey remember that?) last year read “My Comedy Channel” next to the Fox News logo, and “My News Channel” by Comedy Central’s logo.  The sign is referencing Fox News’ reputation as being an untrustworthy and often deceitful news source, while many people have turned to satirical programs such as “The Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” for their information.  Though the news programs on Comedy Central are meant to be humorous, and often admittedly lean to the lefter side of politics, many still find it preferable to Fox News, which is constantly being reprimanded by PolitiFact and other fact-checking outfits for its biased and often misleading presentation of news.  Yet ever since Public Policy Polling has been conducting a survey asking which news source people trust the most (and watch the most), Fox News has consistently come in at number 1.

                However, among the majority of news grazers who prefer Fox News, nearly 80% self-identified as Republicans.  The second most trusted and watched news outlet was MSNBC, which has often been accused of having a more liberal political lean.  Not surprisingly, many of the viewers who trusted MSNBC the most are Democrats.  CNN, which has often been lauded for its accurate and unbiased reporting, was considerably less watched, and considered less trustworthy among viewers.

                There was a time when the most accurate and fair news source would be the more preferential choice.  Now, however, people don’t care about truth and accuracy as much as they want to listen to news that coincides with what they believe.  People only want to hear what they want to hear, and as the news sources play into this, peoples’ source of information has become more polarized than politics itself.

                With the influx of the internet, verifying the accuracy of a news event has become even more difficult.  With a nearly endless supply of news sources out there, each with their own agenda, it has become almost impossible to receive a news story without any bias.  Never was this more apparent than the most recent election.  Despite being a relatively close race, both  candidates were predicted to win by landslides, depending on which news source you used.  Fox News had all but called the victory for Romney months ago, whereas major news sources such as Huffington Post and MSNBC had forecalled Obama coming in with an easy re-election.

                People’s intake of current events should come from reliable and unbiased sources.  As their information becomes increasingly one-sided, their views on issues will also become more strongly aligned to a particular viewpoint.  While Americans become deeper and deeper entrenched into divisive political camps, they grow farther and farther away from finding middle ground.  Being unwilling to compromise and unable to form a moderate opinion on any issue, many political decisions will end in stalemate. 

                This most recent election was one of the most vicious and negative contests in American history.  Bitter arguments raged between voters, neither side willing to see things from their opponents’ point of view.  As news media continues to sensationalize and polarize their reporting, this country will sink farther and farther away from getting things done.