Self-Assessment: Bias
Completion requirements
Self-Assessment: Bias
Complete the chart below and then answer the questions that follow. Then, check your understanding by comparing your responses with the suggested answers provided at the bottom of the page.
2. If I run a newspaper and I choose to use or I choose not to use a specific news story, what kind of bias am I exhibiting?
3. News media often use labels and titles to describe people, places, and events. A person can be called an "ex-con" or be referred to as someone who "served time twenty years ago for a minor offense". What kind of bias does this demonstrate?
4. Readers of papers judge first-page stories to be more significant than those buried in the back. Television and radio newscasts run the most important stories first and leave the less significant for later. What kind of bias is this?
5. A local politician is well-funded and running for Member of Parliament in his riding. His competitor is not well-funded but is a candidate in the same riding. As a result, more promotional videos or filmed public relations material involving the well-funded politician goes to the local news station. What kind of bias is this?
- Provide the denotative (literal) and connotative (emotional) meanings for the words in the table below.
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Denotative meaning |
Connotative meaning |
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supercharged |
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cool |
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awesome |
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peace |
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punk |
2. If I run a newspaper and I choose to use or I choose not to use a specific news story, what kind of bias am I exhibiting?
A. Bias by photos, captions, and camera angles
B. Bias by placement
C. Bias by omission
D. Bias by spin
3. News media often use labels and titles to describe people, places, and events. A person can be called an "ex-con" or be referred to as someone who "served time twenty years ago for a minor offense". What kind of bias does this demonstrate?
A. Bias by omission
B. Bias by labelling
C. Bias by placement
D. Bias by story selection
4. Readers of papers judge first-page stories to be more significant than those buried in the back. Television and radio newscasts run the most important stories first and leave the less significant for later. What kind of bias is this?
A. Bias by placement
B. Bias by labelling
C. Bias by selection
D. Bias by spin
5. A local politician is well-funded and running for Member of Parliament in his riding. His competitor is not well-funded but is a candidate in the same riding. As a result, more promotional videos or filmed public relations material involving the well-funded politician goes to the local news station. What kind of bias is this?
A. Bias by placement
B. Bias by selection
C. Bias by labelling
D. Bias by spin