Final answer:
The US News Media is perceived to have a partisan slant, with some outlets leaning liberal and others conservative. Coverage often blends news with editorial content, and the media's role as a gatekeeper can influence public perceptions and policy discussions. Audience news consumption increasingly aligns with personal worldviews, leading to a fragmented media landscape.
Step-by-step explanation:
When asking whether the US News Media is biased, it is crucial to understand that many perceive the media as having a partisan slant. Observations suggest that some news outlets exhibit a liberal bias, particularly against conservative viewpoints, while others display a conservative bias, seen in their selection of stories and framing.
Major news outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News differ in their approaches, with MSNBC often presenting a more liberal view, Fox News a conservative one, and CNN taking a more moderate stance. Bias in the media is not restricted to opinion pieces; it now permeates news reporting itself, with editorial commentary frequently merging with factual reporting.
News coverage, particularly of political campaigns, has also become more negative. For example, during the 2012 presidential campaign, MSNBC's coverage of Mitt Romney was overwhelmingly negative, as was Fox News' portrayal of Barack Obama. However, ABC, CBS, and NBC showed a somewhat more balanced approach, although they still leaned toward the negative framing of both candidates.
Additionally, biases in media coverage can influence public perceptions, as seen in different beliefs about COVID-19 among viewers of Fox News and MSNBC.
Moreover, the media functions as a gatekeeper, filtering and shaping the news narratives that reach the public. This control over the news agenda can skew the balance of power between the political class and the public in influencing public policy. Biases can be reflected not only in the stories selected but also in the sources used, with some media favoring experts from particular political or ideological perspectives. The choice of experts or authorities can thus indicate the underlying bias of a report.
Audiences to some degree now tailor their news consumption to fit their worldviews, avoiding information that contradicts their beliefs, leading to a fragmentation where partisan individuals consume media that reaffirms their ideological leanings. This personalized news consumption is both a product of and a contributor to the industry's orientation toward profitability, often at the expense of in-depth coverage of government and policy issues.