Sorting Out Truth

Bias seems to be in the eye of the beholder. In other words if one has a strong point of view, all differing points of view will be considered inaccurate and manipulative. To really perceive bias, one has to be neutral to an issue in order to objectively determine whether a story is slanted to a particular point of view.
There is an assumption an individual (we, I) can ferret out the truth from a slanted story while a third party is easily influenced. The real danger is when this “ Third Person Effect” is used as a measuring stick for public opinion, which is not accurate due to our own projection. This could account for the public’s cynicism of government, press, and a lack of voter participation.
The liberal left is disproportionably represented in the media. Being human one cannot help but to report as one’s own eyes sees an issue. The real problem is lack of equal reporting of opposing points of view.
Truth nowadays seems to be a relative thing based on ones own views. There are no universal truths just the way each individual interprets information. Our culture has become Machiavellian, where winning at any cost is condoned. One of the largest radio sports talk shows Jim Rhome’s Jungle has a motto “ If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying”! Society has to reestablish the values of integrity, honesty, and morality.
My reaction to writing this paper is tempered due to the fact that I’ve tried to keep my own biases in check in order to create a paper that is objective as I am able. The most important reason for this is for my own desire to maintain honesty and integrity. Personally, I have thought for a long time that the news is managed, especially when you flip channels, all news programming showing the same story at the same time with the same story line. Even the weather is in the same basic time slots through out the networks news programs.
Research is time consuming and overwhelming in our information age. With facts and statistics one can be pick and choose and take out of context to achieve whatever the researcher is trying to convey. This is scary when society relies on information in 10-second sound bites.