Entry 3: Slants in the Media

As a young college student, I am beginning to take an interest in politics and news. I want to be informed about what is going on in the world around me. To do this, I began watching the news and noticed a pattern. This pattern being that the information presented was not true facts, but in most cases, a small fact surrounded by very large opinions either for or against something. 

This is called a slant. 

A slant is the modification of the truth to make it better suit the authors stance. This could be a minor offense such as leaving out a small detail or a major offense such as blatant lying. Slanted media is something that we as Americans encounter everyday through broadcast news, print news and social media.   

Is slanting avoidable? 

Yes, there are ways to get information without any biased and that would be through a reference book that is purely facts. Every editorialized piece of news media is going to have some level of slant or opinion. It is the audience's job to be aware of this and to be able to recognize the distinction between fact and opinion. 

To dissect some slant news media, I chose a very slanted news media station, Fox News. The video below is a compilation of fox anchors talking about marriage equality over the last ten years.

*Disclaimer- This video was chosen for the sole purpose of analyzing rhetoric. This video is not a representation of my views on the topic of marriage equality* 

Here is a list of some of the non-factual statements used in the video. 

• If gay marriage is legal "other groups will want the same treatment" 
• "Why stop there, why can't polygamists get married?" 
• "Can you marry a duck?" 
• "This case is about...attacking churches" 
• "...a dad, seven moms and thirty five children...'

While each clip in the video is only an excerpt from a whole segment or story, these non-factual arguments are still apparent. Whether the reader or viewer agrees or disagrees with the news, there needs to be a conscious understanding that there are slants in the media. 

The statements that I pulled from the video are to play pull at the audience's heart strings and to push them into agreeing with them. In the instance comparing gay marriage to polygamy or beastiality, two things that hold negative connotations, suggest that gay marriage is unethical or wrong. 

Next time you are watching the news or reading a magazine, I challenge you to find these slants and make a conscious decision of whether or not you agree with what the piece is saying.