All of us grow up with our own sets of experiences, values and ideas about how the world works or should work. Although we do not intentionally get locked into our own ways of thinking and perceiving, the filters we bring to any situation – including planning stories, choosing sources, interviewing and putting together the final package – may prevent us from seeing the world as others do. This may lead us to cover news in a way that others find biased.
For example, do you have preconceived views about regions of a country or other countries?
- Where are you from? California? New York? The Deep South? The Midwest? Europe? The Middle East?
- What are the people from your part of the world like?
- What are your perceptions about people from other places?
Do you have preconceived views about specific
groups of people?
Without giving it much thought, what is your perception
of:
- Politicians
- Big business executives
- Small business owners
- Environmentalists
- Professional athletes
- Evangelical Christians
- Muslims
- People who don’t go to church
- Private school students
- Public school students
- People who never graduated from high school
Do you have preconceived views about certain
issues?
When you hear about the following issues, what is
the first thing that comes to mind?
- Public education
- Immigration
- Tax policy
- Gender issues
- Sexual orientation
- Land use and development
- Business and labor relations