War news II (with a little political bias thrown in for fun)
The other day I mentioned the way readers interpret our portrayal of the Middle East conflict. Now The Washington Post reports on a study -- an old one best I can tell -- that confirms what every editor knows instinctively by now.
Partisans, it turns out, don't just arrive at different conclusions; they see entirely different worlds. In one especially telling experiment, researchers showed 144 observers six television news segments about Israel's 1982 war with Lebanon.
Pro-Arab viewers heard 42 references that painted Israel in a positive light and 26 references that painted Israel unfavorably. Pro-Israeli viewers, who watched the very same clips, spotted 16 references that painted Israel positively and 57 references that painted Israel negatively.
Both groups were certain they were right and that the other side didn't know what it was talking about.
The tendency to see bias in the news -- now the raison d'etre of much of the blogosphere -- is such a reliable indicator of partisan thinking that researchers coined a term, "hostile media effect," to describe the sincere belief among partisans that news reports are painting them in the worst possible light.
Well, yes, ya think?
The article mentions, but doesn't elaborate on the notion that this experiment also could apply to political bias. Were I the president I would say, "No (expletive), Sherlock." I hear from a lot of people who believe we're biased one way or the other -- hard to believe, I know. Their concern is often that while they are smart enough to see through our perceived bias, many others will be "duped" by it. And that, they believe, is the danger: we're influencing gullible, passive minds.
The experts say don't count on it.
Ross and Perloff both found that what partisans worry about the most is the impact of the news on neutral observers. But the data suggest such worry is misplaced. Neutral observers are better than partisans at seeing flaws and virtues on both sides. Partisans, it turns out, are particularly susceptible to the general human belief that other people are susceptible to propaganda.