Texas Government: Expose Media Bias

QUESTION

1. Find an example of what you consider biased reporting – this may be an article from a newspaper or magazine, a video from a TV news channel, or an audio clip from a radio news program. The article or video should be somehow relevant to Texas politics or government. Finding biased reporting may be made easier by viewing the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart (https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/) and choosing a media outlet on the far left or the far right on the chart. Post a functioning link to the article or clip you are analyzing and provide a full citation.
2. Read this article or this article about identifying media bias. Use the techniques in them to explain the nature of the bias and any techniques in your example of biased reporting used to sway the reader/viewer/listener. Note that you are to analyze bias in reporting, not bias exhibited by someone who is the subject of the reporting (for example, do not choose a speech by a politician covered by a new outlet and then analyze the bias in the politician’s speech. Instead, analyze the bias in the outlet’s coverage of the speech). In what way is the news source showing preference for or against a certain person, party, policy or idea?  Note any of the following: use of language, tone, word choice, etc.; facts that were omitted, gotten wrong or taken out of context; editing or cropping; use of flattering or unflattering images or descriptions; use of music or lighting to manipulate emotion; any other evidence that the report is one-sided and biased.
3. Use and cite evidence from at least one solid academic source to make the case that bias is evident. You might use articles from Politifact.com or Factcheck.org, other news stories from solid academic sources, primary data sources, etc. In other words, use a source outside of the article you are analyzing to establish and prove the presence of bias.
4. Respond to another student’s post. Choose a student who responded to a different topic/option than you did. Your response should be more than just opinion – you may agree or disagree with their analysis but you must use and cite solid academic sources to make your case in order to deepen and extend the discussion.

ANSWER

Expose Media Bias

Media bias is a concerning phenomenon in communication and political science. An example of media bias is demonstrated by the Washington Post’s article titled “In a close race, Texas’s Abbott talks war — against migrants” (Washington Editorial Board, 2022) The article speaks about Governor Abbott’s decision to bus immigrants to Washington DC, and other blue states. The reasons cited by the article for the mass transportation of immigrants are biased. Based on Governor Abbott’s accounts, the state does not have enough resources to cater to the endless immigrant inflow into the state, explaining his decisions. The article’s authors need objectively challenge the Governor’s reasons to make a contrary claim.

However, instead of objectively challenging the Governor’s reasons, the authors create this narrative of an anti-immigrant Governor who is prejudiced against immigrants. First, they indicate that the Governor and his conservative allies have previously compared immigration into the U.S. to the Pearl Harbor attack. They then indicate that the Governor has openly declared the immigration as an impending “invasion” into Texas and provide a link to another article discussing Abbott’s alleged threats of declaring an invasion (Goodman & Sandoval, 2022).

Unfortunately, both articles do not indicate when and where the Governor made this statement. Telling readers the Governor openly declared the immigration into Texas an invasion implies that he issued an executive order with the above remarks. However, a quick online search reveals that the Governor did not actually make any of these remarks. What the authors interpret as a declaration of invasion are the Governor’s border security measures, including conducting random border security checks, deploying thousands of law enforcement troops to the border, and building a 20-mile border wall. The authors perceive these measures to be excessive; hence, interpret the, as invasion declaration (Goodman & Sandoval, 2022; Washington Editorial Board, 2022).

The border security measures may be arguably excessive, but they do not mean that the Governor is planning a war against immigrants, as the article’s title implies. The authors stated, “Now, he speaks openly of declaring that an immigrant “invasion” is underway at the border, a move that supposedly would enable Texas to claim war powers, forbidden to states under the U.S. Constitution unless they are “actually invaded.” Claiming that Abbott plans to invoke actual war powers due to his arguably excessive border security measures is far-fetched and grossly misleading. The lack of objectivity in this article and its misleading information characterizes its biasness.

References

Goodman, J. D., & Sandoval, E. (2022, April 30). Abbott Threatens to Declare an “Invasion” as Migrant Numbers Climb. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/30/us/texas-border-abbott.html

Washington Editorial Board. (2022, July 15). In a close race, Texas’s Abbott talks war — against migrants. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/15/greg-abbott-texas-reelection-immigration/

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Related Topics

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Texas Government: Political Parties

Lawrence et al. versus Texas (2003)