Can Media Bias Be Reduced?

"Mrs Garrison, you've got to stop them. Your husband created a new kind of journalism, and you helped him. Take a look at the first paper you ever printed. Quote: 'This paper will fight for progress and reform. We'll never be satisfied with merely printing the news. We'll never be afraid to attack wrong--whether by predatory wealth or predatory poverty.' You're not selling The Day, you're killing it."
--Ed Hucheson (Deadline U.S.A.)

Rarely a day goes by where I don't encounter commentary about the persistent state of media bias. A common question is this: Why can't [insert outlet name here] be more even-handed in their coverage?

At least two factors prevent reduction in media bias. One is the ingrained political ideologies of journalists and other people who create and report the 'news.' Viewing the world thru an ideological lens filters the data. Some data are filtered out which necessarily concentrates or biases what passes thru. Slanted coverage is bound to result--and persist as long as ideologies remain ingrained.

A less discussed, but perhaps more important factor contributing to persistent media bias in the long run is the strong market that has developed for biased media coverage. People generally gain psychic pleasure when they consume media that reinforces their view of the world. They feel psychic pain when media do not confirm their worldview. Because they generally prefer pleasure over pain, media consumers will gravitate to outlets that produce palatable content. Empirical evidence suggests that media markets have segmented accordingly.

Stated differently, as long as media outlets depend on resources, monetary or otherwise, from their readership, they will be reluctant to reduce biased content because they will lose readers (and resources).

Factors that slant media markets on both the supply and demand sides reinforce each other in ways that cause media bias to persist, and perhaps even escalate, over time.