Recognizing Biased Media

The other day, I opened up the morning paper, which for me is the San Antonio Express News, as I do most mornings to read the front section. I mostly enjoy reading about the world news, but I also peruse over the political news, especially with the presidential elections coming up this fall. However, the other day, I was slightly disturbed by what I saw when I turned the pages of the paper over to find two pictures, one of Barack Obama and one of John McCain. Recently, the Express has begun each day to put in a picture of each of these men, recording what they did the previous day. 

One this particular day, the picture of Obama was typical. Having been sojourning across the world, speaking with various international leaders, Obama was pictured sitting with General Petraeus in a solemn manner, most likely discussing the policies and progress in Iraq. This seemed completely harmless, but the stark difference between this picture and the one of McCain is what I found to be so disturbing. The picture of McCain showed him riding in a golf cart with Bush Sn. On the cart, the sign read, "Hands off," indicating that it was not public property. The message was loud and clear. Surely, McCain had done many other things that day, including giving at least one speech. Surely the Express had another picture that would have sufficed. Yet they decided to publish a picture of McCain with Bush Sn. and a sign that read "hands off," both of which alienate him from the American public. Now I am certainly not a supporter of McCain, and this not because I am a hard core conservative either. Although I do not consider myself an Obama supporter either, I do tend to lean to taking his side on most issues. Still, when the media is so blatantly biased, something is wrong. 

If anyone is reading this right now, they may ask why I am spouting about this issue on the Internet instead of writing a letter to the editor. I could write a letter to the editor, but I do not feel that one mistake deserves a letter of reprimand. However, if this bias continues to occur, I will certainly take more direct action. For now, I simply desire to educate the readers as to what biased media is, so they may recognize it when it occurs, rather than being duped into believing everything journalists say or do. As a journalist myself, I can confidently say that it is not our goal to deceive. Rather, our goal is to bring truth to the public. However, even we fall prey to our own biased and may not realize this bias until someone else brings it to light. So do not be so harsh on journalists, but be aware that we do make mistakes. So please recognize our bias and bring this bias to light so that we can better reveal the truth.