Date of Graduation
8-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Journalism (MA)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Journalism
Advisor/Mentor
Patsy Watkins
Committee Member
Gerald Jordan
Second Committee Member
Ray McCaffrey
Third Committee Member
K. Jill Rucker
Keywords
Communication and the arts, Bias, Ethics, Media
Abstract
The perception of media bias by students with an education in journalism and access to an education in journalism ethics was explored by juxtaposing two political articles covering the results of the 2016 Super Tuesday presidential primaries for both major parties and requesting students at different points in their education careers to rank them on six semantic differential items. Data was also gathered about the students’ knowledge and use of the Center for Ethics in Journalism. The results did not yield any support for previous research asserting that individuals are more inclined to perceive bias in articles with which they disagree, but it did yield some interesting insights to the awareness–or rather lack thereof–of the Center for Ethics in Journalism. Although the hostile media effect was not specifically supported by this study, many other factors may have been in play and unaccounted for including apathy, reading levels, and a too-homogenous sample.
Keywords: Hostile Media Effect, Bias, Perception of Bias, Ethics, Journalism, Media, Political Journalism, Program Awareness
Citation
Coppola, K. (2016). The Perception of Bias by University Students with Access to an Education in Ethics: A Study of the University of Arkansas Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism and the Center for Ethics in Journalism. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1742