The Biased Media

The Biased Media by Bill Wilson

At the risk of offending some who attended public school and to enlighten others, there are three branches of government in the United States-Executive (President), Legislative (Congress), and Judicial (Supreme Court). As a journalism student at The Ohio State University, we were often told of the fourth branch of government. It is an unofficial branch, called the Fourth Estate. One of the first uses of the term is attributed to Edmund Burke, the Irish statesman, who used it in a parliamentary debate in 1787 when he referenced the three estates of parliament then pointed to the press gallery as the fourth estate that was to hold the other three accountable. Today's news media fails this historic responsibility.

 

True journalism is to report the news from an unbiased vantage. Today's journalism blurs the lines between sensationalism, editorializing, agenda promotion, propaganda, and quite frankly, lastly-the facts and truth of news. One such technique is called "click bait," which uses a headline to get you to look at the story, but then the story says the opposite of the headline. Another is to bring in a bunch of so-called "experts" to analyze and debate the headlines. These are usually people with a biased agenda, but they are positioned to you as news analysts. Another technique is the "stand-up on sight" reporter, who comes across as an eyewitness, but views the event from a biased, agenda-driven lens. 

 

Proof positive is a report by media watchdog Media Research Center that states: "It's been two days since NBC's exclusive reporting that the Senate Intelligence Committee has found no material evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and as of yet none of the three major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) have given it even a single second of coverage in their evening newscasts. Considering these networks have given the Russia probe a massive 2,202 minutes of airtime, their silence on this major development is deafening...the Russia investigation accounted for nearly 19 percent of all Trump-related reporting between January 21, 2017 and February 10, 2019. However none of those three shows have even mentioned the investigation since NBC's report came out on February 12."

If we do not have media reform as a nation, our freedoms are in jeopardy. Jesus said in John 8:32, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." He said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes unto the Father but by me." As Christian Americans, we know the truth. We should demand it of our media. How? Quit watching these news channels; don't buy their papers; don't believe anything they report. Find news sources that report the truth, and make sure others are verifying their stories. Don't be dupes by falling for stories that are not true. Practice discernment. As a prophetic people watching for the return of Christ, we must work hard to heed the warning of Christ in Matthew 24:4, "Take heed that no man deceive you."