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The Media Influences the Public's Perception of Reality

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The Media Influences the Public's Perception of Reality
One problem that plagues us everyday without us even realizing it is media bias. We see it in the news. We see it on our favorite sitcoms. We read it everyday in the paper. Yet, we really don't recognize when we hear it or see it. The media bias is evident to exist and can provide us with false information and realities. We, the public, should learn to not be as easily influenced by the media and should not let it shape our perception of reality. Three types of very common media biases that incredibly affect our perception are, corporate biases, political biases and sensationalism in the entertainment industry. The mass media is an important cultural phenomenon that we must understand if our cognitive processes are to be informed but not extremely influenced by it.

A study done by the Program on International Policy Attitudes, documents the relation between news source and certain misconceptions about the Iraq war. The poll asked Americans whether they believed statements about the war that were known to be false and what their primary news source was. The study showed that higher numbers of Fox News watchers held certain misconceptions about the Iraq war than others, an altered perception of reality. You may ask, why Fox News? The reason is Corporate biases. In America, media and advertising are some of the biggest influences on a person's method of viewing and interpreting the world. The media is funded through contributions, sponsorships and advertising so it has to provide something valuable and influential to it's audience to gain financial support. This is where a Corporate biascomes into play. A corporate bias is the reporting of issues to favour the interests of the owners and advertisers of the news media. These partialities on a corporate scale exceedingly affect thepublic's perception. For example, if you were to only watch Fox News Network, you would have conservative perceptions, regarding that Fox News is considered a conservative network. Is it
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