This presidential election has produced a clear loser and it is not who you think. Journalism, with an already low approval rating, has lost even more support from a public not sure what to trust in the cacophony of media voices.
One university professor has started an internet conversation with a tool that aims to educate media consumers on the influences of media bias, which can be destructive with a single word or phrase inadvertently used in a sentence.
Dr. Brendesha Tynes, the director the Digital Learning and Development Lab at The University of Southern California-Rossier has started a web-based platform called Rate My Media, a crowd-sourced site to report instances of harmful media bias in all forms, from blogs and newspapers to textbooks.
“There are indications on social media that there is great concern about the bias and inequities in the places people get information,” Tynes told Cult of Mac. “People on Twitter are calling out bias and critiquing articles that portray groups of folks inaccurately. We want to use this to change behavior. This is something more than just throwing darts at the media.”
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Media bias comes in a variety of forms, from reporting that favors clear ideological beliefs (MSNBC is considered left-leaning, Fox News is said to bend far right) to words and phrases that perpetuate stereotypes through social media and blogs.
Damage is done to reputations with careless or lazy wording. The group Black Lives Matter is constantly challenging media reports regarding protests of police-involved shootings of blacks. If an instance of violence or destruction of public property breaks out at a protest, outlets will often say “the protest turned violent” as opposed to reporting how a peaceful protest gets interrupted by a handful of outsiders who instigated a confrontation.
What’s the difference? Without proper context, a perception forms that paints the group as a terrorist organization rather than social activists fighting an injustice.
“This is actually a major inspiration for the web app,” Tynes said. “Often, the protestors are described as violent, yet people who were on the ground tell a different story through Twitter. Some of these media-informed notions of groups are a recipe for stereotypes and inaccuracy.”
Rate My Media lets users comment on media bias in all forms, from news articles, television reports and textbooks to film, comics, blogs and music. Users can also steer others to media organizations they feel are more inclusive, responsible, fact-based and without ideological judgment.
The site accommodates video reviews and offers a rating system for equity and inclusion.
RateMyMedia went live on Sept. 21 and several categories are already filling up with reviews from critical observers.
Tynes said she was inspired to start Rate My Media after a mother challenged the publisher McGraw-Hill last year for a geography textbook that described African slaves as “workers.” The mother was able to get McGraw-Hill to change the text and reissue the book to schools.
“What this has to do call those media outlets to the table,” Tynes said. “Which reporters, which articles. . . Where did they go wrong but I’m even more interested in where are people getting it right.”