Dirtside's Journal: Bias

Yesterday I was listening to 105.1 (KMZT), a classical music station here in Los Angeles (they call themselves "K-Mozart"). At the top of each hour they recount a few news headlines. One of the ones they mentioned was the bombings this weekend in Bali, where 181 people were killed and several hundred more injured.

When the DJ read the headline, he referred to "the bombings in Bali in which two Americans were killed." (That's not an exact quote but it's close.) There was no mention of any other deaths or injuries. What he said was factually true: two Americans were killed in the bombings (although I've heard another source say three, but it's a small enough variance to be considered accurate), but it's what he omitted -- that about 180 other people were killed -- that's telling.

Always keep in mind: even the most "unbiased" news source has a bias, because news sources are always generated by humans, and all humans are biased. Even me. Even you.

Exciting New Flavor: Bali Blast!

[Saeger]

That the media focuses on the 2 Americans killed vs the dozens of others pisses me off too - even though I'm aware of the 'tribal' psychology in play.

I'm a racist too... a human racist. I belong to a large tribe.

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