Real Communication An Introduction

Appendix B   Understanding Mass and Mediated Communication^541

choose to air nudity or use bad language at any time (depending, of course, on

whether they think their advertisers or audiences would approve).

Although indecency rules are what you may hear most about, there are also

other important areas of media regulation. Much FCC action is directed at how

the media corporations conduct their business, such as approving or denying

mergers. The FCC has also recently expanded its influence over the Internet, in-

cluding controversial attempts to limit the control that Internet service providers

have over the online traffic that flows through their services.

Media Bias

As you’ll recall from Chapters 1 and 2, our own thoughts, opinions, and experi-

ences influence the messages we send as well as the way we interpret the messages

we receive. These communication biases are also at work when it comes to mass

media. Most scholars agree that media sources—both news and entertainment—

express some degree of bias in their viewpoints and in their content. News cover-

age of a presidential campaign, for example, can be quite different, depending on

the political leanings of the network or news organization doing the reporting

as well as the personal ideologies of individual reporters, editors, and producers.

In the latter half of the twentieth century, news organizations across the mass

media generally expressed commitment to the goal of objectivity—that is, they

were primarily concerned with facts and uninfluenced by personal or political

bias, prejudice, or interpretation. Although embraced as a laudable goal, both

consumers and journalists over the years have questioned whether this goal has

been (or even can be) met (Duffy, Thorson, & Vultee, 2009; Figdor, 2010). In

any case, today’s media are increasingly embracing more partisan news in order

to compete in a crowded marketplace (Groeling, 2013; Iyengar & Hahn, 2009).

Cable news networks tend to narrowcast to one viewpoint or another in search

of higher ratings, and online news sources represent a wide range of ideologically

partial reporting—from the Breitbart series of Web sites on the right to the Huff-

ington Post on the left. Thus the variety of ideologies represented by media today

makes it difficult to pin any particular bias on “mainstream” media as a whole.

That does not mean, however, that bias is unimportant. Studies suggest

that when presented with coverage of a given issue, partisans of both parties

perceive the news to be biased against their own side, especially when they feel a

LIBERAL COMMENTATOR

Rachel Maddow and conser-

vative Sean Hannity hail from

opposite ends of the spectrum

of politicized news coverage,

and they are not subtle in their

partisanship. (left) The Kobal

Collection/NBC-TV/Goldstein, Ali; (right)

AP Photo/Fox News Channel, Shealah

Craighead

Although traditional news

media strive for objectivity,

it is unlikely that any media

message can be presented

entirely without bias. As

noted in Chapter 1, every

communication transac-

tion is influenced by the

relational, situational, and

cultural contexts in which

communication occurs.

As audience members, we

should be aware of the way

these contexts might bias

not only the media but also

our own perceptions of

media messages.

Although traditionalnews

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