One of the most alarming trends of recent years has been the escalation of media bias in reporting the news. Traditionally, the news media has been pledged to uphold ôtruth in reporting,ö but over time the mediaÆs concept of ôtruthö has degenerated to the point of meaninglessness. Instead of clearly differentiating media opinion from straight facts, the media has intermingled them to produce a hazy blend that is neither truth nor fact. Princess DianaÆs eulogy provided an excellent example of this deliberate bias. Although her brother included a scorching reference to the mediaÆs implication in her death, which was almost certainly the result of hounding by the paparazzi, virtually all media omitted this reference when they reproduced the text of the eulogy (Citron). As one author aptly put it, ôOne of the most annoying ways in which the media manipulates the news to serve their own goals is when it uses its unique power to cover up its own malfeasanceö (Citron).
Not only is untruth in reporting unethical, because of the mediaÆs tremendous power in swaying peopleÆs opinions, it is alarming as well. In the 2000 Presidential election, the media attempted to sway the vote by prematurely announcing one candidateÆs victory over the other. Many undecided citizens who had not yet voted were likely persuaded to vote for the ôwinningö candidate, simply because wanting to be on the winning team is human nature. Given the mediaÆs obvious and unscrupulous lack of regard for honesty, this was not terribly surprising. What was shocking, however, was that they had the boldness to make such announcements with the actual figures scrolling in the background to disprove their claims. Even more shocking, viewers believed what the media said in spite of the disparity with the hard numbers shown on their TV screens. This incident suggests that people will believe virtually anything that the media tells them, even when ha
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