Political Research Paper: Opinion Polls And Bias

Name: Professor’s name: Course: Date: Political Research Paper 3 Media Bias Media bias is a distinct phenomenon that has been in existence for a very long period in the industry. Social, political, and economic matters have all fallen prey to biased reporting or coverage by the media fraternity. Partiality in the coverage of news and events across the three aspects or prejudiced reporting is defined as Media bias (Baker Brent, 2012). Media bias tends to have a negative impact on the society as it denies people the right to honest information and is used to sway influence to specific selfish interests overlooking the benefits of the public to which media is supposed to be accountable. Bias in the media occurs through omission, placement, and selection, labeling, and spinning or twisting of stories. Omission, for instance, refers to leaving out of a part or parts of a given coverage that are not in line with the media agency’s ideologies or factions, political or otherwise, which it supports, favors, or shares an affiliation. Opinion Polls and bias questions Opinion polls during an electioneering period or matters of national interests, especially touching on controversial domestic policies, have become an integral part of the media in the United States. However, the recent Presidential elections in the United States raised questions about the objectivity of survey groups carrying out the opinion polls. The influence of such polls cannot be downplayed and neither it's their genuineness in their data collection methods and financiers of the projects (Ranganathan Meghana, 2014). Public response on matters given in numbers based on a quantitative analysis of feedback from a given portion of people as a representation of a unit population defines what is commonly known as opinion polls. It has become almost impossible to determine its authenticity due to corrupted methodologies employed by surveying groups to collect and analyze data. The use of leading questions aiming for certain preferable feedback deems the principles behind opinion polling illegitimate. Biased questions will, of course, lead to biased results and hence deceiving both the public and the supporters or financiers of the opinion poll carried out. Political Parties, and their platforms Political parties in the United States are known for being so vocal in drumming support for their distinct ideologies that polarize the nation into two resilient factions. The two main political parties, the Democrats, and the Republicans have different political and development ideologies that each belief would drive the nation forward (Farhi Paul, 2013). Democrats, for instance, support higher taxing of the wealthy and freedom of religion to everyone. The party also aligns itself with the working class of the American community and champions for rising of their minimum wage. The Republicans, on the other hand, oppose higher taxes for the wealthy often aligning itself with this quintile of the American society. Consequently, the platforms used by either party to spread their propaganda are similarly distributed. The Democrats use and influence the progressive media outlets and organizations as their battlefronts in dismissing their political opponents. The Republicans, on the other hand, use the more conservative groups and media agencies to push forward their agendas and disapprove of their antagonists’ political ideas and principles. Move on Media matters Media matters America is a non-profit organization serving as a progressive watchdog on issues affecting the transparency and accountability of media outlets and personalities in the United States. Founded in 2004 by David Brock as a tax-exempt organization, Media Matters for America took a proactive approach in trying to find solutions or rather put a break to the rapid journalistic decay of the American media. Media Matters for America took upon itself to streamline the loss of ethics and morals guiding the conduct of media houses and restoring back their responsibility and accountability to the public. The depiction of the Democrats as mainly progressives and Republican as conservatives without solid facts tends to polarize the country by telling the public what it wants to hear about their side of support Baker Brent, 2012). The organization serves to correct the misinformation that is currently so rampant in the media and hence creating fierce opposition from benefactors of the deteriorating state of the trusted news agencies. Fox news, for instance, a beneficiary of the controversial Trump’s administration wrote to the IRS seeking the revocation of the organization’s tax-exemption status. The media house has been on the receiving end of Media Matters under the leadership of Angelo Carusone in regards to its false portrayal of the Presidency. The move on Media Matters, however, is not entirely based on its objectivity towards restoring accountability to mainstream media but also on its perceivable leniency when it comes to matters concerning the Democrats. It's handling of controversies arising from the democratic wing seems to put its objectivity in question and thus fuel the polarization and its abject opposition. Center for American Progress Organizing for America Center for American progress is one of the most influential non-profit organization whose scope of operation covers the social, political, and economic development of the society. The organization advocates for more public involvement in matters affecting the society’s well-being in all the three aspects of any community. Center for American progress focuses more on policy developments seeking to enhance the lives of ordinary Americans through public educational programs on matters concerning their liberties across the three parameters and helping them make informed decisions. Abbreviated as CAP, the organization dedicates its noble services to improving Americans’ lives through progressive ideas driven by bold leadership full of strength and active involvement in policy debates at the national level. It is evidently a pro-right organization whose actions have made significant impacts to the society at both the domestic and international level through campaigns such as Doctors for America, Enough, women’s initiative, and Generation Progress. Its links with the Democrats make it culpable to criticism on policy matters as it is more likely to be seen as the pa...