As an avid consumer of news, I am noticing that the American media is not exactly as objective in their coverage as they should be. Actually, that is an understatement; The mainstream news media seems geared toward a viewpoint that engages in speculation rather than the day’s news.
For example, there are a growing number of segments dedicated to the presidential race in 2016 as well as who will take leadership positions. Currently, the most talked-about names in the news cycle are Jeb “Not-Another-One” Bush and Hillary “New-But-Not-So-New” Clinton. Barbara Kellerman, a lecturer in public leadership at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, believes the fascination with presidential races arises from cults of celebrity, the drama of the electoral process and a sense of nostalgia. All of these interpretations, though, sound like excuses. This kind of news cycle always happens when a president is well into his second term, and Americans are feeling the eight-year itch. American media need to slather on some lotion and get back to reporting on topics that are relevant to the American experience.
The attack on Charlie Hebdo received hours upon hours of news coverage, which makes sense given terrorist attacks have left a stain on America’s recent history; It’s easy to sympathize with the French people. But the day before the attack on Charlie Hebdo, an unidentified man planted a bomb outside of an NAACP building. Fortunately, no one was harmed by the blast. Most media companies that reported the bombing didn’t actually cover it until Friday. The bombing of the NAACP is an example of how white supremacist groups or persons are still actively attempting to suppress civil rights groups, yet the bombing received little coverage.
Saturday, the terrorist group Boko Haram, which kidnapped hundreds of girls back in April 2014, went on a murderous rampage on the city of Baga in Nigeria. Reporters estimate 2,000 people died in the attack. But, like the NAACP bombing, this horrific event received hardly any attention in the American news media. Why is that?
It is because news institutions want higher ratings and more views on their websites. Stories about a bombing on our own soil and one of the deadliest massacres in recent memory are not gaining much attention, because the American public wouldn’t be surprised to hear of massacres in Africa. Nor would the American public be concerned by news of a potential terrorist attack against the NAACP.
It is my firm belief that if there is a story to be told, it should be told. The media have a duty to tell you what the important news of the day is and how it applies to individual lives. Focusing on people, no matter how oppressed they might be or where they are from, allows us to connect and sympathize with modern-day struggles.
Harold Joseph is a UF political science junior. His column appears on Mondays.
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 1/12/2015 under the headline “US media has clear selection bias"]
