Media Bias Leaves Public Uninformed About Controversial Topics

Kirsten Kueser 

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Earlier this year Kermit Gosnell, a doctor in Philadelphia, was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, resulting in a court case that lasted roughly three months. The abortion doctor allegedly murdered seven newborn infants and one mother. The Grand Jury Report regarding Gosnell’s malpractice-littered abortion clinic was gruesome.

A sketch artist's rendition of equipment from Dr. Kermit Gosnell's 

abortion clinic.(Source: Susan Schary/NBC10.com)

“This case is about a doctor who killed babies and endangered women. What we mean is that he regularly and illegally delivered live, viable babies in the third trimester of pregnancy - and then murdered these newborns by severing their spinal cords with scissors. The medical practice by which he carried out this business was a filthy fraud in which he overdosed his patients with dangerous drugs, spread venereal disease among them with infected instruments, perforated their wombs and bowels - and, on at least two occasions, caused their deaths,” it reads.

Gosnell has since been convicted of multiple counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. When I first heard of this story I searched the web expecting there to be a full array of reports on the trial (as they say, bad news travels fast) but instead only found coverage of the event in local Philadelphia news. In fact, I found more articles about the lack of national coverage that this than I did actual information and reports.

So why, in a time where abortion is so socially relevant, would this story fail to make front page news? Institutions, such as the conservative watchdog group the Media Research Center, blame the lack of coverage on a biased media. “The media elite are passionate about abortion and passionate about defending it. This is a story that threatens the abortion rights agenda…It’s bias by omission,” said MRC’s director of media analysis, Tim Graham.

Bias in journalism is hardly a new concept, but in most cases the bias benefits the cause a journalist or institution is supporting. In failing to acknowledge the Gosnell story completely, biased journalists are doing a disservice to not only the public, but also to the cause they are supporting. The public depends on the media to provide them with the information they need to form an educated opinion of their own. Similarly, controversial topics such as abortion depend on the media’s attention and full disclosure to gain attention from the public.

In addressing the malpractice that occurred, journalists provide the public with the information they need to understand what sets Gosnell’s abortion clinic apart from the rest. Yes, Gosnell’s abortion techniques were illegal and grotesque, but unprofessional institutions like this are not as common as the regulation-abiding abortion clinics throughout the country.

Bias is inevitable; everybody has his or her own opinion. However, journalists can accurately report controversial topics and stay true to their values and opinions. By providing an unbiased report, the public is more likely to form their opinion about the controversial topic from facts. In contrast, denying the public information creates an inherently negative stigma about the issue.