We Are Actors in the Newsroom; Assessing Media News Biases: The Case of CNN (West) Al Jazeera (Middle East)
The newsroom has devolved into a theatrical performance, where anchors and journalists play the roles scripted by for-pay editors, stern pundits, and intrepid investigators. In this farcical production, CNN (West) and Al Jazeera (Middle East) have emerged as leading actors, expertly peddling sensationalism and biased reporting to their audiences. According to a 2020 study by the Pew Research Center, 64% of Americans believe that the media has a significant impact on shaping public opinion, making them complicit in this theatrical charade.
Behind the scenes, media news buyers – the puppet masters controlling the narrative – pull the strings, dictating what news is worthy of coverage and how it should be presented. In the case of CNN, a 2020 report by the Columbia Journalism Review revealed that the network’s parent company, WarnerMedia, has significant ties to the US defense industry, which may influence its coverage of military conflicts and national security issues. Similarly, Al Jazeera’s Qatari ownership has raised concerns about the network’s objectivity, particularly in its coverage of Middle Eastern politics. A 2019 study by the Middle East Media Research Institute found that Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language channel devoted significantly more airtime to anti-Israel and anti-US coverage than its English-language counterpart.
As the audience, we are left to navigate this labyrinthine world of biased reporting and hidden agendas. According to a 2020 survey by the Knight Foundation, 69% of Americans believe that the media is biased, while 58% think that fake news is a major threat to democracy. In this environment, it is imperative that we develop a critical eye, recognizing that the news is often a carefully crafted script designed to elicit a specific emotional response rather than provide objective information. By acknowledging the role of media news buyers and the theatrical nature of modern journalism, we can begin to reclaim our agency as consumers of news and demand a more authentic, unbiased narrative.
Dr Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke writes from the University of Abuja Nigeria
