Media Bias 101
August 31, 2006

In San Francisco yesterday, Omeed Aziz Popal climbed into his SUV and systematically began running over people. After one died, he was heard by a couple of different people proclaiming he was a terrorist.

This is just the latest of several like incidents in the last 6 months – others include a similar SUV rampage at the University of North Carolina, and a shooting spree at a Seattle Jewish center.

All these crimes have two things in common. 1) They involve Muslims indiscriminately killing non-Muslims, and 2) The lack of press coverage of is deafening. We PurpleThinkers avoid conspiracy theories regarding the media, but it is becoming increasingly hard to do so.

An elderly man plows his car into an L.A. farmer’s market in 2003 and it sparks a national debate on licensing laws. A gay man is murdered in Wyoming and it expedities hate crime legislation. A gunman opens fire in a Baghdad market and it makes the CNN front page for 24-hours. However, three unconnected U.S. Muslims murder as self-proclaimed terrorists – all in a 6-month period -- and the story is buried in the din of local media. We certainly aren't advocating panic or insinuating that all Muslims are anything but -- well, Muslims. However, something certainly seems amiss.

The first lesson is that the mainstream media is biased. Nobody should doubt this any longer. Mainstream media outlets derive their power from appearing as politically correct as possible. By erring on the side of minority sensitivity, the media eliminates the risk of appearing insensitive and disconnected. The same press that jumps at the chance to report that shark attacks are on the increase will avoid any trend that may draw the ire of a protected class (hey, sharks are people too!).

CNN and CBS created Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. Mainstream media created the need for niche media to cater to an under-served demographic -- in this case, conservatives. The bad news is that this is a self-perpetuating cycle. Because Fox News has so well defined itself, the New York Times and ABC must accentuate an ever stronger liberal slant in order to further distinguish themselves from the competition. The result is a polarized media that keeps getting worse.

Blogs and talk shows proclaim that their adversary – be it liberals or conservatives – distort reality by pushing an agenda with their reporting. We disagree. Rather, as truth #5 on our homepage proclaims, media simply works to affirm the beliefs their consumers already hold. It takes too much time and energy to shape public opinion. It’s far easier to find a bloc and feed them news that keeps them coming back for more.

Thus, it makes sense to think of Americans as groups to be appeased. CNN's pocketbook is endangered by reporting Muslim violence in America. Likewise, Fox News coined the term “homicide bomber” to echo the already established sentiment of its customers that terrorists deserve no pity.

Many have wised-up and have turned to the blogosphere and other alternative media in order to make sense out of omissions and commissions of bias. Unfortunately, the majority of voters still live in the age of Cronkite and have no idea they’re being patronized in the worst way.

Best case scenario: We learn to treat our choice of media like buying a car and comparison shop before drawing conclusions.

Worst case scenario: We get lulled into our comfort zone of self-affirming media bliss and fail to recognize a serious national threat.

Allah help us all.

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