Who wrote it?
Introduction
One of the most important media literacy skills is asking who wrote what you’re reading and why they wrote it. Often writers can benefit from you believing certain things and so they write media biased to their side.
Examples
The Washington Post
A post recently went semi-viral online about an article from the Washington Post supporting billionaires’ space races. The punchline? The Washington Post is owned by Jeff Bezos, a billionaire who has participated in space races (Giuliani-Hoffman 2019).
A meme about Jeff Bezos' ownership of the Washington Post. Photo by Jessica Ernst.
RTÉ
RTÉ, although they are usually factual (Media Bias/Fact Check 2023), are a state-run media company. This means they are more likely to publish stories supporting the government. An example is them publishing 4 pieces about Dublin’s water shortage on the same day (Lee 2024), with two mentioning a planned pipeline from the Shannon to Dublin as a solution.
Only one opponent to the pipeline is interviewed and the cost is brushed over. It is not mentioned that researchers have studied the pipeline and argue against it (Kennedy 2022). You can see how RTÉ is trying to make people support the government-run project.
Conclusion
Though I have discussed mainstream news here, often it is even more of a problem with smaller outlets.
In short, when you are reading any media, make sure to check who wrote or published it and how they can benefit from it!
Source list
Published 20th April 2024.