Abstract:
The role of the media is to mediate information between authorities and the public and to do so in a fair manner. The debate is ongoing as to whether the media truly fulfills its core ethics of fairness, objectivity and balance. The perception of media bias exists despite the lack of consensus among communication scholars about it. This gives room for an alternative idea that the media environment is such that people are attracted to outlets that cater to their own sentiments or group interests in news coverage particularly in times of crisis. Where the media falls short of the audience’s expectation, there may be perception of bias. The study set out to test whether group affiliation can cause perception of bias in news and if so, what are the possible consequences on the media involved. Respondents in Gwagwalada, Abuja and the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Daudu, Benue state of Nigeria, were requested to read and assess a standardized news story published by ThisDay newspaper on the killings attributed to Fulani herdsmen of two Catholic priests and many others in Benue state. The result shows low confidence in the media outlet among those who perceived its news story as biased. The paper argues that no matter how objective the media reports may be, partisans with pre-existing notions will expect that the media will be biased against them because they do not perceive it as representative enough of their position. The research suggests though that the media can do more in de-escalation of crisis by refraining from using words and phrases that can stereotype parties in a conflict.
Keywords:
media, society