Evaluating Media Bias

Media bias has been a hot-button issue for several decades and it features prominently in the post-2016 political conversation. Yet, it receives only spotty treatment in existing materials aimed at political communication or introductory American politics courses. Evaluating Media Bias is a brief, supplemental resource that provides an academically informed but broadly accessible overview of the major concepts and controversies involving media bias. Adam Schiffer explores the contours of the partisan-bias debate before pivoting to real biases: the patterns, constraints, and shortcomings plaguing American political news. Media bias is more relevant than ever in the aftermath of the presidential election, which launched a flurry of media criticism from scholars, commentators, and thoughtful news professionals. Engaging and informative, this text reviews what we know about media bias, offers timely case studies as illustration, and introduces an original framework for unifying diverse conversations about this topic that is the subject of so much ire in our country. Evaluating Media Bias allows students of American politics, and politically aware citizens alike, the means of detecting and evaluating bias for themselves, and thus join the national conversation about the state of American news media.

Table of Contents:
1. The Enduring “Liberal Media” Charge 2. The Scholarly View of Partisan Bias 3. How To Evaluate a Bias Charge 4. The Real Biases 5. Coverage of the Affordable Care Act 6. The Media and the 2016 Republican Nomination 7. Bias, Balance, and Ideals in the Trump Era

About the Author :
Adam Schiffer is associate professor of political science at TCU. He studies American politics and teaches courses on political communication, public opinion, and research methods. He has published on topics such as the role of social media in the 2012 presidential election, the ability of blogs to set the mainstream press' agenda, partisan bias in newspaper election coverage, and ideological self-identification.

Review :
Schiffer's timely volume on the real problems with news media debunks common allegations of political bias, in particular liberal bias. The author explains in his introduction that ‘[the media] sometimes inflict serious injury on informed citizenship through a litany of routines, biases, and shortcomings that leave news consumers ill-equipped to navigate contemporary politics.’ For example, he discusses the media’s focus on the competition and personalities of campaigns and elections rather than comprehensive coverage of the complex matters of policy. He also notes how news stories are depicted as isolated events instead of patterns that emerge over time, which would allow for more reflection and critical thinking. Schiffer also blames the media for its inattention to the verification of facts. And he reminds us that news media is interested in covering the sensational over more substantial themes and topics that cannot be converted into sound bites. The most compelling chapters in the book are those that explain how Donald Trump was able to use ‘every known quirk and pattern of the mainstream media’ to his advantage after he first declared himself a presidential nominee on June 16, 2015: novelty, conflict, negativity, sex/vulgarity, personalization, obsession with celebrity, simplicity, and horse-race coverage. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. On a topic usually discussed with the volume and clarity of a two year-old throwing a tantrum, Adam Schiffer has brought forth an essential work, both readable and rigorous. Exploring not only bias in the media but also the ill-considered possibility of fairness, Schiffer does something rarely seen amongst those evaluating the media. He lets the evidence guide his conclusions instead of the other way around.