We all know that there is heavy bias in various media outlets. In the article “Stopping the next Tom Cotton stunt before it starts” the author, Steve Benen goes into discussing what Senator Tom Cotton and others wrote to the Iranian government. Essentially, they wrote that whatever negotiations that Obama and Iran agree to will not be binding when the next President takes office. As one can imagine, this angered many politicians from both houses of the legislature. In Chapter Six of Politics and Communication in America, Kuypers and Denton, Jr. write about bias and more specifically, coverage bias. They also write that news stories reported by national networks tend to lean towards a more liberal bias. As we all have observed, msnbc is no stranger to liberal media bias. Some reporters write with “statement bias” where they put their own opinions into reporting. In this article, Benen writes that “47 GOP lawmakers tried to sabotage American foreign policy.” This is an instance of coverage bias. We don’t need to go into the fact that there is already a long history of both parties in both houses freely contacting foreign leaders with their own agendas. Benen also shows his opinion in statement bias by alleging that Cotton and other GOP leaders made a serious mistake. This article from msnbc.com is a good example of coverage bias.
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Interesting post. As we had discussed in class there is no doubt that there is media bias. However the question as to why is perhaps even more interesting. Are all media outlets and personnel working for them on one side or the other? If so what purpose would this serve? I believe that it’s all part of business. Bias and argumentation equals ratings no doubt about it. Each media outlet plays off the other to keep a perpetual bias based argument over subject matter continue on. If you follow a variety of media networks you can actually see this play out almost like a sports competition. Each network is it’s own team and the game is how to spin the news and current events. One network view will try and counter the other in some way to keep the general public interested. Bottom line bias is big business,
I believe you are both correct on what this article was trying to say. I would even go a little farther and mention that not only could it be considered coverage bias, but I also believe it is perceptual bias. When you first read the article, it gives you the perception that many senators are upset with the letter that Tom Cotton wrote and had signed by other GOP Leaders and that it was actually sent to foreign leaders in hopes of undermining the Presidents negotiations with Iraq about their nuclear weapons program. However, as you continue to read and check out the other links throughout the article, you find that the perception changes to having you realize that in fact that the letter was not actually sent. It had just been written as a ploy to get the President to reconsider his negotiations with Iraq. Therefore, the way an article is written can certainly change the perception of those who read and what section of the article they actually read.