Media Bias terms test

Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, idea, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

Use of vague, dramatic or sensational language. When journalists put a "spin" on a story, they stray from objective, measurable facts.

Journalists sometimes make claims in their reporting without including evidence to back them up.

News media often use names and titles to describe people, place or events. These titles can be positive, negative or neutral.

Information is presented in a way that gives a shock or makes a deep impression. Often it gives readers a false sense of culmination, that all previous reporting has led to this ultimate story.

Many people read only the headlines of a news item. Most people scan nearly all the headlines in a newspaper. Headlines are the most-read part of a paper. They can summarize as well as present carefully hidden bias and prejudices. They can convey excitement where little exists. They can express approval or condemnation.

Some pictures flatter a person, others make the person look unpleasant.

Describes when journalists tell only part of a story. It can include cherry-picking information or data to support one side. Prevents readers from getting the full story, and narrows the scope of our understanding.

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Leaving one side out of an article, or a series of articles over a period of time

Failing to specifically identify sources of information. Vaguely labeling groups or people.

When a media outlet prominently places news stories that coincide with a specific agenda while "burying" those that represent an opposing point of view.

An editor can express a bias by choosing to use or not to use a specific news item

Words that are emotionally charged--either positively or negatively.

a pattern of highlighting news stories that coincide with the agenda of either the Left or the Right, while ignoring stories that coincide with the opposing view