#1 - Bias in Cable News

 Bias in Cable News

Is there bias in cable news? According to a 2020 article published by The Chicago Tribune, half of the American population says, "yes." Opinions aside, it is evident that some cable news networks are biased towards one political party or another. This is not necessarily a bad thing; however, bias in the news is a source of false information and fabrication in the media. This is why voting citizens, and Americans in general, should know which news networks "swing" too far right, too far left, or are generally moderate and impartial towards politics. 

There has been plenty of research on where specific news networks stand on politics. For example, The Media Bias Chart pinpoints precisely how extreme the network is on politics and how trustworthy their information is. They also include an interactive chart to search a specific network, website, or podcast. 

Two news networks commonly thought to lean towards a particular political party are MSNBC and FOX News.  

MSNBC is based in New York City and is owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division. According to The Media Bias Chart, MSNBC skews left on the political scale. The website AllSides has a page of information regarding MSNBC's ratings and overall political bias. The news network, along with CNN, falsely reported an incident related to the 2021 capital riot on January 6th. MSNBC continually claimed that a Capitol Police officer, Brian D. Sicknick, was "bludgeoned to death" by Trump Supporters with a fire extinguisher; however, it was untrue. Although Sicknick was sprayed with a chemical irritant, and the men involved were charged, he died hours after the riot, and he was found with no internal or external injury. It was also found that he did not experience any allergic reaction to the irritant. The events of January 6th, 2021 were horrific and appalling; however, according to AllSides, "the whole story from start to finish has shown clear media bias from the left and right, with the right more likely to call out the left media for repeating the claim." 

It is known that Fox News skews right on the political scale, which is confirmed by The Media Bias Chart. Fox News is based in New York City and is owned by FOX News Media, which itself is owned by the Fox Corporation. According to a Blind Bias Survey done by AllSides in November of 2020, Fox News leans right. The survey participants were from all sides of the political spectrum and were asked to rate the network's content blindly.  Fox has also been accused of focusing heavily on opinion content and pushing false information. According to Pew Research Center, four in ten Americans trust FOX News; however, about the same number distrust it. It was also found that Republicans trust FOX News more than any other outlet, while Democrats distrust it more than any other outlet. This, in itself, highlights bias in news networks and audiences' bias. 

When thinking of news bias, many will think of presidential elections. During that time, audiences can tell which political party and presidential nominee in which a network is biased. Even now, as President Biden enters his second year in office, American citizens hear praise from one network and the opposite from another. Although many enjoy watching politically catered news, it is crucial that Americans trust their news network, and bias sometimes blinds the truth. 










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