Thomas Arndt, PhD, is an interdisciplinary scholar and technologist whose career explores the intersection of politics, media, and technological innovation.

This diplomatically provocative title deserves shelf space in library collections that are curated to serve thoughtfully curious high-school students, inquisitive undergraduates, and open-minded community readers.

• How to Use This Book1. The Nature of BiasQ1. What does it mean to be biased?Q2. How prevalent is political bias in major media outlets?Q3. Is bias always a bad thing for consumers of news and information?Q4. Why have many media outlets seemed to grow increasingly biased over recent years?Q5. What is a so-called bias of omission?Q6. When is there a difference between bias and things like disinformation or propaganda?Q7. Is there any way to measure the accuracy or fairness of news?2. Mass Media, Politics, and CultureQ8. How did the development of mass media impact American politics?Q9. How did the development of the so-called adversarial press shape perceptions of bias?Q10. How did the corporatization of media change the ways in which news and information are disseminated?Q11. Is media bias responsible for today’s extreme political polarization?Q12. Are there differing levels of bias in different types of media (print, TV, online)?3. Opinions and EditorializationQ13. What is the importance of op-ed pieces in newspaper outlets?Q14. How important is it when media outlets endorse partisan candidates running for office?Q15. How carefully do media outlets distinguish between facts and opinions in their content?Q16. Who decides which news events and stories receive the most attention?Q17. What is fake news?4. Liberal BiasQ18. Is the frequent conservative charge of liberal media bias in mainstream news accurate?Q19. How biased are cable news stations like CNN and MSNBC or newspapers like the New York Times or Washington Post?Q20. How have liberal conspiracy theories tainted the presentation of news?Q21. Is there liberal bias built into the algorithms used by giant tech firms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google?5. Conservative BiasQ22. What explains the dominance of Fox News Channel on cable TV?Q23. How biased are newspapers like the Wall Street Journal or New York Post?Q24. How have conservative conspiracy theories tainted the presentation of news?Q25. How influential have far-right or alt-right media outlets been vis-à-vis talk radio, podcasts, and various online forums?6. Governance, Regulations, and ReformsQ26. Why do some countries have a state-run media?Q27. What is the job of the FCC when it comes to content moderation or censorship?Q28. What is the so-called Fairness Doctrine?Q29. What is the rationale behind calling for the social media giants to be regulated and/or broken up?Q30. How does Section 230 offer protections for media companies and how has it shaped political bias on the internet?Q31. What can consumers of news do to help foster competent and balanced presentations of news in the future?Index

Thomas Arndt, PhD, is an interdisciplinary scholar and technologist whose career explores the intersection of politics, media, and technological innovation.

This diplomatically provocative title deserves shelf space in library collections that are curated to serve thoughtfully curious high-school students, inquisitive undergraduates, and open-minded community readers.

• How to Use This Book1. The Nature of BiasQ1. What does it mean to be biased?Q2. How prevalent is political bias in major media outlets?Q3. Is bias always a bad thing for consumers of news and information?Q4. Why have many media outlets seemed to grow increasingly biased over recent years?Q5. What is a so-called bias of omission?Q6. When is there a difference between bias and things like disinformation or propaganda?Q7. Is there any way to measure the accuracy or fairness of news?2. Mass Media, Politics, and CultureQ8. How did the development of mass media impact American politics?Q9. How did the development of the so-called adversarial press shape perceptions of bias?Q10. How did the corporatization of media change the ways in which news and information are disseminated?Q11. Is media bias responsible for today’s extreme political polarization?Q12. Are there differing levels of bias in different types of media (print, TV, online)?3. Opinions and EditorializationQ13. What is the importance of op-ed pieces in newspaper outlets?Q14. How important is it when media outlets endorse partisan candidates running for office?Q15. How carefully do media outlets distinguish between facts and opinions in their content?Q16. Who decides which news events and stories receive the most attention?Q17. What is fake news?4. Liberal BiasQ18. Is the frequent conservative charge of liberal media bias in mainstream news accurate?Q19. How biased are cable news stations like CNN and MSNBC or newspapers like the New York Times or Washington Post?Q20. How have liberal conspiracy theories tainted the presentation of news?Q21. Is there liberal bias built into the algorithms used by giant tech firms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google?5. Conservative BiasQ22. What explains the dominance of Fox News Channel on cable TV?Q23. How biased are newspapers like the Wall Street Journal or New York Post?Q24. How have conservative conspiracy theories tainted the presentation of news?Q25. How influential have far-right or alt-right media outlets been vis-à-vis talk radio, podcasts, and various online forums?6. Governance, Regulations, and ReformsQ26. Why do some countries have a state-run media?Q27. What is the job of the FCC when it comes to content moderation or censorship?Q28. What is the so-called Fairness Doctrine?Q29. What is the rationale behind calling for the social media giants to be regulated and/or broken up?Q30. How does Section 230 offer protections for media companies and how has it shaped political bias on the internet?Q31. What can consumers of news do to help foster competent and balanced presentations of news in the future?Index

Thomas Arndt, PhD, is an interdisciplinary scholar and technologist whose career explores the intersection of politics, media, and technological innovation.

This diplomatically provocative title deserves shelf space in library collections that are curated to serve thoughtfully curious high-school students, inquisitive undergraduates, and open-minded community readers.

• How to Use This Book1. The Nature of BiasQ1. What does it mean to be biased?Q2. How prevalent is political bias in major media outlets?Q3. Is bias always a bad thing for consumers of news and information?Q4. Why have many media outlets seemed to grow increasingly biased over recent years?Q5. What is a so-called bias of omission?Q6. When is there a difference between bias and things like disinformation or propaganda?Q7. Is there any way to measure the accuracy or fairness of news?2. Mass Media, Politics, and CultureQ8. How did the development of mass media impact American politics?Q9. How did the development of the so-called adversarial press shape perceptions of bias?Q10. How did the corporatization of media change the ways in which news and information are disseminated?Q11. Is media bias responsible for today’s extreme political polarization?Q12. Are there differing levels of bias in different types of media (print, TV, online)?3. Opinions and EditorializationQ13. What is the importance of op-ed pieces in newspaper outlets?Q14. How important is it when media outlets endorse partisan candidates running for office?Q15. How carefully do media outlets distinguish between facts and opinions in their content?Q16. Who decides which news events and stories receive the most attention?Q17. What is fake news?4. Liberal BiasQ18. Is the frequent conservative charge of liberal media bias in mainstream news accurate?Q19. How biased are cable news stations like CNN and MSNBC or newspapers like the New York Times or Washington Post?Q20. How have liberal conspiracy theories tainted the presentation of news?Q21. Is there liberal bias built into the algorithms used by giant tech firms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google?5. Conservative BiasQ22. What explains the dominance of Fox News Channel on cable TV?Q23. How biased are newspapers like the Wall Street Journal or New York Post?Q24. How have conservative conspiracy theories tainted the presentation of news?Q25. How influential have far-right or alt-right media outlets been vis-à-vis talk radio, podcasts, and various online forums?6. Governance, Regulations, and ReformsQ26. Why do some countries have a state-run media?Q27. What is the job of the FCC when it comes to content moderation or censorship?Q28. What is the so-called Fairness Doctrine?Q29. What is the rationale behind calling for the social media giants to be regulated and/or broken up?Q30. How does Section 230 offer protections for media companies and how has it shaped political bias on the internet?Q31. What can consumers of news do to help foster competent and balanced presentations of news in the future?Index