Bias in the News

The topic pertaining to the raging wildfires in northern and central California have been covered extensively over the past few weeks. Despite most of the U.S. entering the colder winter months, California still exists in a seemingly never-ending ring of fire. According to an article titled "California Today: Camp Fire Matches Deadliest Fire in State History" published by the New York Times Magazine, the nicknamed forest fire "Camp Fire", continues to bring mayhem and destruction to the city of Paradise. It is now alongside the deadliest fire in the state's history.

The times, with its primarily liberal viewer base, speaks to such an audience by referring to the unfortunate news of the fire's devastation as "grim" and "ominous". This is based on factual information that spoke to the rising death toll, currently at 29, in relation to the number of persons missing, which was at a staggering 200. Through this, they describe the urgency and speed at which search crews and emergency workers are tending to the search, incorporating an element of pathos in the process. This, as a result, can lead to the reader being more intrigued to read further, and ultimately support the cause through charitable donations, including a factor of logos.

In this style of writing, it can be concluded that the use of bias by story selection is a possibility in this instance. There were numerous accounts speaking to these fires, and even on Camp Fire itself, however, this Times article excludes a potentially more conservative perspective. This can be found in tandem with the use of bias by selection of sources, as the article references other articles released in relation to the spread of fires in California earlier in the week, also published by the NY Times. This provides an opportunity to explore and gain more context within the framework of the topic, however only under the liberal perspective.

Based on the information and statistics included in the article, the goal of the author can be identified as to simply bring knowledge to the forefront. However, this doesn't mean that both certain points of reference were left out and that an opposing side of the story could have been excluded as well.

"Sheriff's deputies walked through a neighborhood destroyed by the Camp Fire near Paradise."