Media bias in the United States

Claims of media bias generally focus on the idea of media outlets reporting news in a way that seems partisan. Other claims argue that outlets sometimes sacrifice objectivity in pursuit of growth or profits.

Some academics in fields like media studies, journalism, communication, political science and economics have looked at bias of the news media in the United States as a component of their research.^[1] In addition to bias, academics and others also evaluate factors like media reliability and overall press freedom. Academic studies tend not to confirm a popular media narrative of liberal journalists producing a left-leaning media bias, though some studies suggest economic incentives may have that effect. Instead, the studies reviewed by S. Robert Lichter generally found the media to be a conservative force in politics.^[2]

Some recent polls show half (or more) of respondents expressing concern about media bias in the United States.

^ Lichter, S. Robert; Rolfe-Redding, Justin (August 31, 2015). "Media Bias". Communication. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/obo/9780199756841-0111. ISBN 9780199756841. While the fields of communication and political science have traditionally hosted investigations of media bias, economics has become a relatively recent addition to the scholarly conversation, generating work on new measures of bias and the role that audience preferences may play in producing slanted news.
^ Lichter, S. Robert (2018). "Theories of Media Bias". In Kenski, Kate; Jamieson, Kathleen Hall (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication. Oxford Handbooks Online. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 412. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199793471.013.44. ISBN 9780199984350. OCLC 959803808. ...much popular media criticism has posited that journalists' personal attitudes produce a liberal tilt in their coverage. Most scholarly studies have failed to support this conclusion, however, and the increasing public perception of liberal media bias has been linked to audience biases and strategic efforts by conservative elites. However, recent studies have rekindled this debate, while attributing biased coverage to economic incentives rather than journalists' mindsets.

[:2-1] Lichter, S. Robert; Rolfe-Redding, Justin (August 31, 2015). "Media Bias". Communication. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/obo/9780199756841-0111. ISBN 9780199756841. While the fields of communication and political science have traditionally hosted investigations of media bias, economics has become a relatively recent addition to the scholarly conversation, generating work on new measures of bias and the role that audience preferences may play in producing slanted news.

[:17-2] Lichter, S. Robert (2018). "Theories of Media Bias". In Kenski, Kate; Jamieson, Kathleen Hall (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication. Oxford Handbooks Online. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 412. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199793471.013.44. ISBN 9780199984350. OCLC 959803808. ...much popular media criticism has posited that journalists' personal attitudes produce a liberal tilt in their coverage. Most scholarly studies have failed to support this conclusion, however, and the increasing public perception of liberal media bias has been linked to audience biases and strategic efforts by conservative elites. However, recent studies have rekindled this debate, while attributing biased coverage to economic incentives rather than journalists' mindsets.

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