Entry 3_ Dương Thị Hồng Ngát

Item 1: Bias in language

The report that: "Israeli occupation forces once again provoked a deadly confrontation with Palestinian freedom fighters, turning another youth into a martyr in his quest for liberation…"

- Scapegoating

- Analysis: Many news reports involving Israel and Palestinians use very politically-charged words, whether on purpose or not. The substitution of "militant" for "terrorist", for example, conveys a sympathy for the Intifada, or the continual use of "occupation" as oposed to "Israeli-occupied territories" conveys a viewpoint that shifts away from neutral objectivity.

Item 2: Bias in a survey

In a survey, a question is:

Do you think professors should have more contact with university staff and university administrators?

- Bias in a survey

- Analysis:

Clearly, this question asks about two different issues: Do you think professors should have more contact with university staff? And do you think that teachers should have more contact with university administrators?

Combining the two questions into one question makes it unclear which attitude is being measured, as each question may elicit a different attitude.

Item 3: Bias in language

Sample questions from Charles Gibson of ABC's interview of Sarah Palin, candidate for Vice-President, 11-12 Sept 2008:

Sample questions from Charles Gibson of ABC's interview of Barack Obama, candidate for President, 4 June 2008:

Governor, let me start by asking you a question .. and it is really the central question. Can you look the country in the eye and say "I have the experience and I have the ability to be not just vice president, but perhaps president of the United States of America?" And you didn't say to yourself, "Am I experienced enough? Am I ready? Do I know enough about international affairs? Did you ever travel outside the country prior to your trip to Kuwait and Germany last year? Have you ever met a foreign head of state? I'm talking about somebody who's a head of state, who can negotiate for that country. Ever met one? Are we fighting a holy war? But then are you sending your son on a task that is from God? Do you believe the United States should try to restore Georgian sovereignty over South Ossetia and Abkhazia? Would you favor putting Georgia and Ukraine in NATO? Do you consider a nuclear Iran to be an existential threat to Israel? What if Israel decided it felt threatened and needed to take out the Iranian nuclear facilities? Do you agree with the Bush doctrine? Do we have the right to be making cross-border attacks into Pakistan from Afghanistan, with or without the approval of the Pakistani government? (And lots more hostile and aggressive questions.)

Senator, I'm curious about your feelings last night. It was an historic moment. Has it sunk in yet? When everybody clears out, the staff is gone, you're in your hotel room at night and you're alone -- do you say to yourself: "Son of a gun, I've done this?" Did you truly, in your gut, think that a black man could win the nomination of a major party to be president of the United States? On what criteria and what timetable will you choose a vice president? On what three issues will this campaign turn to you? Do you worry that it could turn on race, age and class? Will you go to Iraq? Is the hardest part of all this behind you or ahead of you? The picture of you in the paper, this morning, with your wife, watching the Clinton speech. What did you think of the Clinton speech? She didn't exactly acknowledge your victory. And finally your daughters. What did they say to you? Did they take it as a matter of course that Daddy could be nominated to be president? They never knew what older people know in terms of discrimination, although they may still feel some. What did they say about that? I watched closely your countenance last night, your mien, as you stood in that hall. You didn't smile much. Has the joyfulness of this hit home yet? Do you take joy from it?

- Scapegoating

- Analysis:

It is obvious that not only the questions for Palin are harder, but also the interview is more hostile.
And the interview’s purpose is showing that “Palin was only running for Vice-President! Obama was running for President!

Source:

http://www.greenberg-art.com/.Toons/.Toons,%20Media/MediaBias.html

http://knowledge-base.supersurvey.com/response-bias.htm

http://markhumphrys.com/media.obama.html