(3) visual bias: biased toward visual depiction of news;
(4) bad news bias: biased toward selecting of only bad news;
(5) narrative bias: biased toward a full story of event that has to have beginning,
middle, and end;
(6) status quo bias: this means news media never questions the structure of the
political system;
(7) fairness bias: compelled to get reaction from an opposing camp;
(8) expediency bias: competing for freshness and timely of news and never comes
to a rest; and
(9) glory bias: journalists asserting themselves into the story they cover (especially
TV reporters) (Kumar 2012 :63–66).
The mind of the selfless journalist is the mind that bears the voidness of bias,
impartiality, egoism, ethnocentrism, hatred, and delusion. It should be the mind of
compassion (metta) and loving kindness (karuna), ready to sympathize or empa-
thize others (mutita) and stay undeterred of lust and craving (ubekka or
equanimity).
They should, out of compassion and loving kindness to the other beings who are
subject to suffering, raise many critical issues such as the indifference as the con-
sequence of being exposed to hyperreality, the decadence of hedonism, and the
moral bankruptcy of consumerism. They should, as well, require the possession of
mutita (sympathic joy) and ubekkha (equanimity) to understand and stay neutral
while working and facing sufferings in the media context. First, there are internal
issues of the media such as the copyright issues, social network issues (such as
exposing self and risking privacy), violent entertainment, and pornography. Second,
external issues are such as crime, poverty, immigration, racism, drug use, economic
depression, and epidemics (May 1973: 201).
Moral conducts of selfless journalists can rely on the wholesome course of action
(Kusala-kammapatha) as follows:
bodily action: abstention from killing; abstention from taking what is not given; abstention
from sexual misconduct verbal action: abstention from false speech; abstention from
tale-bearing; abstention from harsh speech; abstention from vain talk or gossip mental
action: non-convetousness; non-illwill; and right view (palikanon.com).
Bearing in mind that there is no right or wrong, no objective reality, and no way
to link the individual to the universal (Gibson 2004 : 47), a selfless journalist should
be able to cultivate strong moral sensitivity and ethical conducts as well as sound
knowledge of interdisciplinaryfields.
7.7 Conclusion..........................................
Some people think that Buddhism is a religion of negativity. It denies sensual
pleasure, sex, violence, and even the existence of self. In fact, being Buddhist
means being awakened. Anyone can benefit from the Buddhist ways of meditation7.6 Mindful Journalism 113