{"id":89651,"date":"2023-01-14T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-14T21:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=89651"},"modified":"2023-01-23T13:22:28","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T17:22:28","slug":"mainstream-media-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mainstream-media-bias\/","title":{"rendered":"Mainstream Media Bias, Exploitation, & Profit (Candace Owens)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why is distrust of media so high? How and why do mainstream media outlets push political agendas?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Candace Owens says that mainstream media are biased and hypocritical and that they cruelly exploit tragedies to assert their political views. Profit, she says, is at least one of the reasons behind this malpractice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn about mainstream media bias<\/a>, exploitation, and profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Mainstream Media Bias<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Owens says that mainstream media bias is demonstrated when they hypocritically vilify conservative figures and hold up liberal ones. For example, she points out that the media repeatedly lambasted former President Trump for his Diet Coke vice yet never commented on Obama\u2019s smoking habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Politics Behind Mainstream Media<\/strong>

Owens exhibits a significant distrust of what she considers to be the \u201cliberal mainstream media,\u201d specifically calling out ABC, CNN, and NBC. According to PEW Research, the top five news outlets are (in order) as follows: ABC News, CNN, New York Times, MSNBC, and Fox News. In the name of transparency, we\u2019ll examine the politics of who is currently in charge of each company.

ABC News<\/strong><\/a> is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, and its CEO recently transitioned from Bob Iger, an outspoken Democrat, to politically-ambiguous Bob Chapek.

CNN <\/strong>is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery, whose CEO is currently David Zaslav. Zaslav took the position of CEO in 2022 and publicly declared that he wishes to return CNN to a more neutral political stance<\/a>. Rumors have swirled about Zaslav being a staunch Republican and supporter of Donald Trump, but his political contributions indicate that he is a Democrat<\/a>.

New York Times<\/em> <\/strong>is owned by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, and the current publisher is A.G. Sulzberger. His personal politics have been kept under wraps. A media bias website<\/a> rates the publication as left-leaning.

MSNBC <\/strong>is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal. The CEO is Jeff Shell, and his political contributions indicate that he is a Democrat<\/a>.

Fox News<\/strong> is owned by Fox Corporation and chaired by Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch is an Australian-born American citizen and a Republican, although he recently publicly rescinded his support for Donald Trump<\/a>. Murdoch also owns the New York Post <\/em>and the Wall Street Journal.<\/em> 

The Escalating Distrust of Media<\/strong>

According to the Gallup polling organization, America\u2019s trust in the media\u2019s news coverage as complete and accurate<\/em> reached an all-time low in 2016 and has barely risen since<\/a>. Only 7% of Americans have \u201ca great deal of trust\u201d in the media, and 38% have none at all. It\u2019s worth noting that there\u2019s a partisan divide\u201457% of Republicans claim to have \u201cno trust at all\u201d in the media, compared with 10% of Democrats. 

The primary reasons<\/a> that Americans do not currently trust media news reports include:
\u2022 Inaccurate information
\u2022 \u201cFake news\u201d or \u201calternative facts\u201d (two terms coined by Donald Trump)
\u2022 Sensationalism and \u201cclickbait\u201d type stories<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mainstream Media Exploitation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Owens says that liberal news outlets exploit real tragedies by hijacking the given story and using it to push a political agenda. For example, when a school shooting happens, rather than focusing entirely on the events, the victims, and the healing, the media outlet will quickly pivot their stories to the issue of gun control. Owens argues that this tactic is manipulative and heartless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mainstream Media Profit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Owens says that the mainstream media benefits financially from a liberal fanbase, in large part because the owners are primarily left-leaning themselves. The more Democrats there are, the more viewers the program receives, which contributes directly to the wealth of the (mostly) Democratic owners. According to Owens, the media deepens and expands its Democratic reach primarily by broadcasting stories that demonstrate white-on-Black racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owens argues that the media\u2019s continued coverage and exaggeration of racism perpetuates fear, which ensures the audience\u2019s rapt attention. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is particularly evident in the media\u2019s coverage of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Owens says that the media latches onto stories of white cops killing Black men because it receives an intense response and fills the 24-hour news cycle, but that the narrative is intentionally misleading. She says that, when you look at the actual numbers, white cops are in far more danger of being killed than Black men are. In fact, police are 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a Black male than an unarmed Black man is to be killed by a cop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: In addition to mainstream media, social media plays a large part in the perception of major social issues. According to a 2020 Pew Research survey,<\/a> 23% of adult social media users have admitted that social media influenced their viewpoint on a social or political issue. When respondents were asked which particular issues came to mind, police brutality<\/a> and the Black Lives Matter movement were most commonly cited.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise: Identifying Media Bias<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Owens argues that a critical tool of the Democratic agenda is mainstream media. Consider the media that you consume and see if you can identify any hidden manipulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n