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Journalism Has Never, and Will Never, Be Unbiased

“Journalists” were caught on a hot mic joking about assassinating Former President Trump. America’s first 24-hour news channel, CNN, has lower primetime ratings than the History Channel. Plus, trusted fact-checking outlet Snopes was caught on Twitter lying about President Joe Biden wearing a hard hat backward (yes, the president really did improperly wear a hard hat). This is the state of modern journalism.

As mistrust in the media continues to grow, claims of bias spew from the left and the right side of the aisle. The important thing for Americans to remember this election cycle is media has always been biased and the “Journalistic Code of Ethics” is a sham. I’m not aware of a single newsroom that requires employees to stand up and take an oath to uphold a certain standard of “unbiased” journalism.

Furthermore, journalists having a code of ethics is relatively new. The Hoover Institute made note of this in 2013, saying, “The notion that reporters should possess Olympian objectivity is relatively recent. In the nineteenth century, most newspapers were explicitly linked to a particular political party and the economic interests of the publisher.”

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To put this in modern-day terms, if you are going to vote Democrat you probably read The New York Times. If you are going to vote Republican you are probably reading The Washington Times.

Let me be very clear, I’m not saying bias is good or bad, I’m saying it just doesn’t belong in the media. As a human being, bias is unavoidable. Our personal bias trickles into everything we create, like journalism, poetry, art, and even Artificial Intelligence. What is concerning is media outlets saying they are unbiased yet those same outlets will be biased when its convenient.

This election cycle, every journalist (and I use that term loosely) will tell you they are not biased. Every single outlet and tabloid will tell you they don’t have an agenda. This is a lie.  When phrases like “anti-abortion” or “anti-life” are used, this is bias. Those phrases tell you which side of the argument the journalist’s bias is. The proper terminology is “Pro-Life” and “Pro-Choice.”

The sneakiest way to show your bias is with spin. All Sides Media defines spin as “clouds a reader’s view, preventing them from getting a precise take on what happened.” Phrases like “high-stakes,” “stunning,” and “fumes” all bring bias. Check out these headlines and how they could have been written more neutrally.

USA Today – Check on power of federal government or something else? Stakes high in SCOTUS fishing case

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Better headline: SCOTUS to hear case which could limit federal government regulators

— Saying the “stakes are high” is not objective. Who are they high for? And why? If you can answer those questions after reading the article you know it’s biased.

HuffPost: Snoop Dogg Has Stunning Change Of Opinion On Trump

Better headline: Snoop Dog Changes Opinion on Trump

—You literally don’t need the word stunning at all. It just makes it inflammatory clickbait

Sports Illustrated: Ravens’ J.K. Dobbins Fumes Over Goal-Line Fumble: ‘Why Am I Not Out There?’

Better headline: Ravens’ J.K. Dobbins: “Why Am I Not Out There?”

—Ok let’s be honest, the likelihood of this being written by an AI robot is high but the point is still the same. Merriam-Webster defines fume as “something (such as an emotion) that impairs one’s reasoning.” Yes, you are trying to get his emotion across but say he is passionate not fuming.

In 2020, a Brown University study found political polarization was growing faster in the United States than any other democracy in the last 40 years. Since the inception of our country, people have disagreed. However, today the problem is not disagreeing, it’s our inability to speak on opposing views. I personally blame CNN’s show Crossfire for this.

Well before social media placed Americans in a “filter bubble,” the 1982 half-hour show divided the country by turning political discussions into an “I’m right, you’re wrong” screaming match. Or, as Jon Stewart said on his 2004 appearance, “It’s hurting America. Here is what I wanted to tell you guys: Stop.” He later added, “Right now, you’re helping the politicians and the corporations. And we’re left out there to mow our lawns.”

Stewart’s message is simple, when the news distills stories down to talking points the American public loses.

The evidence of biased journalism has been blatantly in front of us since the beginning of our country and still is. Going forward let’s be honest and remember one thing. There is no unbiased journalism or news outlet. Never was and never will be. It’s just not possible. Everything we are today has formed because, for better or worse, we (humanity as a whole) are biased.

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Krystina Alarcon Carroll
Krystina Alarcon Carroll
Krystina Alarcon Carroll is a news media columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.

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