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May 23, 2005

Virginia Postrel on Journalistic Bias

Over at Dynamist Blog, Virginia Postrel lays out a very good explanation of why the media sometimes gets things wrong.

"Much--though by no means all--journalistic bias lies in reporters' assessments of what's likely to be true. Those assessments are based in part on experience with sources and in part on how the reporter understands the world. What do you believe about political motivations? What do you believe about the way the economy works? What do you believe about the likely behavior of U.S. soldiers in combat, or of business executives, or of the clergy, or of Republicans, or of Jews? What do you believe about human nature in general? About political institutions? About the corrupting influence of money? About the power of ideology? About the relative importance of genetics versus culture, nature versus nurture? About the prevalence or sustainability of discrimination? About the influence of violence on TV? About the effectiveness of conspiracies?"

As a fellow of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership, I had access to a fantastic six months of training in the nuts and bolts of politics. One of the most important nuggets of information I gained in the process was in a discussion of the media. A reporter from the News and Observer out of Raleigh, NC spoke to the class. This reporter laid out the number one criterion for deciding what stories to cover.

"We want the story that is important to our next-door neighbor."

This is a good thing to remember. Reporters and editors have to decide what to report based on a lot of things, but if the story doesn't appeal to the guy next door, then who WILL it appeal to? Newspapers are out to make money, and they do that directly, and indirectly, through readership. If the guy next door has the perception that his job may be in danger, then employment issues are what needs to be covered. If the guy next door is a retiree, then Social Security may be the story of the day.

The bottom line? A reporter's perception of his audience is very important in his choice of what to cover, and how to cover it. He perceives this audience by the people he talks to every day. Those people are his co-workers, his friends, his neighbors, and his other associates. Any bias in his reporting may come not only from his own point of view, but also from the points of view of those around him.

If you talk to a reporter, why not tell him what stories would be important to you, instead of how his bias screwed up what could have been a good story?

Posted by Lockjaw at May 23, 2005 10:00 AM

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