Bias Quote by Paul Krugman
““The media are desperately afraid of being accused of bias. And that's partly because there's a whole machine out there, an organized attempt to accuse them of bias whenever they say anything that the Right doesn't like. So rather than really try to report things objectively, they settle for being even-handed, which is not the same thing. One of my lines in a column—in which a number of people thought I was insulting them personally—was that if Bush said the Earth was flat, the mainstream media would have stories with the headline: 'Shape of Earth—Views Differ.' Then they'd quote some Democrats saying that it was round.””
About This Quote
Source Opinion Column: The New York Times, 2022
Media claim bias to avoid accountability, leading to superficial balance over true objectivity.
In simple terms: Media fear bias accusations, so they aim for even-handedness, not truth.
Key Takeaway
Demand genuine objectivity, not false balance.
Themes
media bias
objectivity
political pressure
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
political
media critique
When to use this quote
- news reporting
- political commentary
- public discourse
Key Concepts
journalistic ethics
information integrity
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we discern true objectivity?
- What safeguards ensure unbiased reporting?
A Different Perspective
Even-handedness can mask misinformation.
