Contemporary Ethical Issue of Our Time: Media Bias

The media is a powerful place and arguably is one of the most influential tools in the world. People all around the world listen and watch the media for their daily batch of information and to see what is happening in the world. Which is why when huge media outlets and companies publish something, they would be responsible of shaping the minds and opinions of millions. Unfortunately, most media outlets are private companies, so they have a certain agenda to follow and push to the world. This could lead to bias information and false narratives leading the media website which will in return affect the whole populous. It could be extremely detrimental to the society and social awareness. There is evidence and arguments on both sides of the spectrum. The ethical boundaries that this break is potentially extremely harmful. This media bias essay sought to find out whether biases do exist and where does ethics stand in that situation.

Keywords: bias, media outlets, ethical boundaries, false narratives

Contemporary Ethical Issue of Our Time: Media Bias

Media and journalism are extremely important and is on thin ice to what is appropriate and what isn’t. there are continues questions about what media should represent but on the other hand that these are private companies with every right to post whatever they want. This research will be investigating both sides and seeing where it is in the ethical spectrum of right, wrong and everything in between.

Background

As much as there is variety in media outlets and how many journalists there are. In reality, there are 6 main shareholders in the market right now; Sumner Redstone, Bob Iger, Jeff Beweks, Brian L. Roberts, Rupert Murdoch and Kazuo Hirai. These names own a huge majority of all media outlets, of course there are a few independent media outlets but these 6 own the powerhouses of the industry. It is estimated that these big 6 own around 90% of the industry according to Morris creative. This is a huge jump from 30 years ago where 90% of the media was owned by more than 50 companies. This is due to mergers and big sharks eating small sharks. Millions and millions of people are getting their information from a handful of executives. To be specific, 232 media executives control the information intake of 277 million Americans (imagine if this accounted the rest of the world). The total revenue of the big 6 was estimated to be 275 billion. That’s more than a few countries GDP. They control 70% of cable tv. Which translates to 1 in every 5 hours. these numbers are absolutely insane and show the huge disparity between what should be the case and reality.

Studies have also shown that media has a strong liberal bias due to tests being made for these said outlets cite specific think tanks and schools of thought. Gallup reported that more than 55% of the public lose trust in the media. This means that public awareness is increasing, and this is a crisis for media outlets.

Investigation Question

This study focuses on the existence of media bias in the main news outlets. To be exact, are news outlets providing unbiased, full and objective news or whatever suits their agenda.

Body: Findings and Lessons

Due to recent studies, it was proven that actually media bias is actually present. To what extent would be hard to measure but it is still nevertheless existing. Obviously if there is a few owners to such a huge percentage of the industry, then their biases are bound to be reflected in their businesses. You can’t blame them though; every human has their own biases and vices that represent who they are as people with their own personal opinions. Journalists usually pride themselves for their journalistic approach and unbiased research but money blinds them sometimes and plays into their vices.

Ethically, this would be unacceptable since effecting millions with diluted truths or straight up skewing the truth. There are three approaches to ethical issues; virtue ethics, consequentialist ethics and duty based. In all three, bias in media is unethical and should not be represented. It is unacceptable and the numbers show why. Everything that isn’t accepted the public are bound to dislike it. By the previous number presented that more than half the population doesn’t trust the media. If what they were doing was right, the population would be accepting of it and this is not the case.

The main issue with none-objective information is that you are affecting millions of people and influencing their votes to mainstream issue. Some people would call it mass brainwashing since they don’t know what is true and what is not. This brings up the ethical issue of what should we focus on and how far does free speech go. Ethical restrictions show us that media outlets should be

On the other hand, these are at the end of the day private companies, so they are not forced to do anything. They risk their reputation to push an agenda. This means that their narrative is so important for them that they don’t care about the fact that it could be inaccurate.

In Conclusion

To each their own and in the study it was shown that biases exist, now whether this should be accepted or overlook is up to the public but this essay sought to find out whether biases do exist and where does ethics stand in that situation. The investigator sought to increase awareness to this topic because the best consumers are the more educated ones. The biases of 6 owners will dictate how the media will operate for the next years. Ethical limitations should dictate how we act as a public. It is vital that people understand that they should research their topics well before making an informed decision.