You are here: Home » How To Read Newspapers » Jobs Act: A Measure of Media Bias

Jobs Act: A Measure of Media Bias

by John on 04/03/2012

It’s easy to find bias in media examples.  It’s not all bad, though.

Take the new Jobs Act that will be signed into law by President Obama this week.  The law is a series of bills that will help companies go public and raise money easier.

Yes, this is a bipartisan effort in Congress.  It also means both sides gave up some of their platforms.  And two articles show this.

First, this piece talks about how angel investors and financial institutions stripped the bill of measures that will restrict the smaller investor.  The article points to lobbying efforts for angel investors and financial institutions.

Next, this piece, by Andrew Ross Sorkin, attacks the president for allowing a bill that will stop financial disclosure to the small investors that will take part in cloud funding.  He cites the problems with the Groupon IPO. 

Both articles are a good example of media bias in our daily media.  Yet, they’re both worth reading.  Remember, the media is biased – get over it!  Second, use media bias to your advantage.

Really, both articles are merely offering different perspectives because they’re talking to different audiences.  I call this either an audience bias or a niche bias. 

All media is engaged in this bias.  Your local TV newscast is vying for women between the ages of 25 to 54.  Why?  They make the household’s economic decisions when it comes to everyday products for the home.

In this case, though, Sorkin is worried about the small online investor who could be victims like the unknowing buyers with subprime mortgages or the investors who sunk a ton into securitized investments.  Sorkin wrote a great book, “Too Big To Fail”, which is an inside look at the financial crisis that was also made into a decent HBO movie.

The Business Insider piece, by Michael Brendan Dougherty, is talking to the small business owner and the entrepreneur who needs start-up funds.  They need funding but they feel hamstrung by angel investors and venture capitalists who are, according to Dougherty, armed with lobbyists.

Who’s right?  Who cares?  Both articles make valid points.  However, it’s probably too late to contact President Obama by email or contact Fox News headquarters.  It also shows the old adage about laws made like hotdogs.  No law is perfect. 

Again, this is why you need to be the most important journalist in your life.  You can’t just read one article. 
That’s why you read four newspapers a day.

Here are my suggestions: New York Times; Wall Street Journal; Washington Post; and your local newspaper.

Yikes.  I don’t have the time.  Solutions: read online; read the first 5 paragraphs of all articles; get an RSS Feed.

I would like to hear what the 2012 presidential Republican candidates think about this.  Let me know if you see anything.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: