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Americans Ponder Problems with Mass Media
(ARGM) - Adults in the United States express different views on the behaviour of mass media outlets, according to a poll by Opinion Research Corporation and the Middle Tennessee State University College of Mass Communications. 19 per cent of respondents are worried about bias, slant and one-sided reporting.
Dishonesty is second on the list with 11 per cent, followed by disrespect for privacy with nine per cent, and inaccurate information and errors with four per cent.
In 2005, a study by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) attempted to offer an objective analysis of the perceived bias in several U.S. media outlets. UCLA political scientist Tim Groseclose explained the findings, saying, "I suspected that many media outlets would tilt to the left because surveys have shown that reporters tend to vote more Democrat than Republican. But I was surprised at just how pronounced the distinctions are."
Polling Data
People sometimes have ethical concerns about the behaviour of the mass media. What type of unethical behaviour by the mass media, if any, most concerns you?
Biased / Slanted / One-sided | 19% |
Dishonesty / Lying / Not telling the truth | 11% |
Disrespect for / Invasion of privacy | 9% |
Inaccurate information / Errors | 4% |
Reporting without complete information | 3% |
Too much sex | 3% |
Exaggeration / Distortion of facts | 3% |
Too much violence | 3% |
Repetition / Over-saturation of coverage | 3% |
Sensationalism / Sensationalized stories | 2% |
Too much profanity / bad language | 2% |
Lack of in-depth / complete reporting | 2% |
Too focused on celebrities | 1% |
Too focused on crime | 1% |
Rude / Pushy / Obnoxious behaviour | 1% |
The war / Reporting on Iraq | 1% |
Reporting too many bad / negative things | 1% |
Control of news by corporations | 1% |
Revealing secrets / too much information | 1% |
Only interested in ratings / money | 1% |
Not covering important stories / | 1% |
Source: Opinion Research Corporation / Middle Tennessee State University College of Mass Communications
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,017 American adults, conducted in October 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.