Media Bias: Self-Audit
Academic Connections, Summer 2008
This exercise will help you think through some of the biases you may have in reporting the news. It is important for you to recognize those biases in order to present information as truthfully as possible. Also, this list of descriptors is not comprehensive but should help you identifying your biases in other contexts.
Below is a list of descriptors of people. Indicate your initial reaction to the various descriptors from very positive to very negative. Mark “undecided” if you feel it is a more accurate representation of your feelings toward that descriptor.
This audit is for your own personal use and will not be collected. Please be as honest with yourself as you can so that you can get the most benefit from the exercise. We will discuss the audit after you've completed it. Only share the responses you feel comfortable discussing. Mark your responses to the following descriptors (check only one box):
Descriptor | Positive | Somewhat Positive | Neutral | Somewhat Negative | Negative | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Administrators | ||||||
African-Americans | ||||||
Asians | ||||||
Buddhists | ||||||
Californians | ||||||
Catholics | ||||||
Christians | ||||||
Caucasians | ||||||
Communists | ||||||
Conservatives | ||||||
Democrats | ||||||
Doctors | ||||||
Elderly | ||||||
French | ||||||
Gays/Lesbians | ||||||
Honor Society Members | ||||||
Jews | ||||||
Jocks | ||||||
Lawyers | ||||||
Latinos | ||||||
Liberals | ||||||
Middle Class | ||||||
Nerds | ||||||
New Yorkers | ||||||
Protestants | ||||||
Republicans | ||||||
Secretaries | ||||||
Socialists | ||||||
Sororities/Fraternities | ||||||
Southerners | ||||||
Students | ||||||
Teachers | ||||||
Wealthy | ||||||
Welfare Recipients | ||||||
Working Class |