Monday, September 24, 2007

9-24-07 british reporter injects bias into german marriage story

Another story that I found bias in was a British story posted on CNN about a German politician who is proposing that marriages have a time limit. After seven years of marriage the couple can decide to extend their marriage or not. This is supposed to help decrease the divorce rate in Germany and help with financial struggle burdening the country.

But at the end of the story the reporter commented, in a condescending tone, that the German politician suggestion probably comes from experience because her second marriage ended in divorce and lasted seven years.

The reporter in this story also said, the politician has come up with a “radical solution.”

I think the reporter’s tone, comment on the politician’s personal life, and the comment about the “radical” proposal are all injections of bias into the story that do influence the viewer. If I were unaware of these biases, I would have a negative feeling towards this German politician and her policy, because of this reporter’s story.

2 comments:

Writing Prof said...

Very good. This is a really interesting analysis -- both because you really did find some pretty clear "bias" and because it is always fun to see how the Europeans handle things.

Writing Prof said...

Very good. This is a really interesting analysis -- both because you really did find some pretty clear "bias" and because it is always fun to see how the Europeans handle things.