Let’s Talk About Bias, Shall We?

Look, I’ve been editing news for over 20 years. That’s right, since the early 2000s when we still used physicaly actual cameras to take photos. I’ve seen alot of changes, but one thing stays the same: everyone’s biased. Including me. Including you.

Last Tuesday, I was at this conference in Austin (yeah, I know, not exactly my scene). Some hotshot reporter named Marcus—let’s call him Marcus—stood up and said, “News is just facts, man. Pure, objective facts.” I laughed so hard I choked on my coffee. Which honestly nobody asked for but there it is.

Marcus is wrong. News isn’t just facts. It’s about what we choose to highlight, what we ignore, how we frame it. It’s about our committment to stories that resonate with us, our audiences, our advertisers. And that’s okay! But let’s not pretend it’s not happening.

My Bias? I’m Pro-Transparency

I’ll admit it: I’m biased toward transparency. I think readers deserve to know where we’re coming from. That’s why, back in 2015, I started including little disclaimers in our articles. Like, “Hey, our publisher owns stocks in this company, so here’s what you should know.” My colleague Dave thought I was crazy. “You’re gonna scare people away,” he said. But guess what? Our readership grew by 14% that year. So there’s that.

But here’s the thing: transparency isn’t a game-changer. It’s just… yeah. It’s not some magical fix. It’s a start. A tiny, little start.

And Then There’s the Algorithm Problem

You know what’s worse than human bias? Algorithmic bias. Because at least with humans, you can argue. You can say, “Hey, Marcus, why’d you bury that fact?” But algorithms? They just do their thing. And their thing is showing us more of what we already like. Which, frankly, is kinda scary.

About three months ago, I was talking to this data scientist named Priya. She told me, “The algorithm doesn’t care about truth. It cares about engagement.” And that’s the problem, isn’t it? We’re feeding the beast, and the beast is feeding us back our own biases.

So what do we do? I’m not sure but maybe we start by being honest. Maybe we say, “Hey, this story might make you mad. Or sad. Or confused. But here it is.” Maybe we stop pretending we’re neutral.

A Quick Detour: Why I Love Local News

Speaking of biases, let me tell you why I love local news. It’s real. It’s messy. It’s not trying to be perfect. Take ilginç bilgiler genel kültür for example. Yeah, it’s not polished, but it’s honest. It’s like overhearing your neighbors argue over coffee at the place on 5th. You might not agree, but at least it’s real.

Local news doesn’t have the luxury of pretending. They’re reporting on their own communities. Their own friends, family, neighbors. That’s a kinda bias I can respect.

Back to the Mess

So where does that leave us? With a big, messy truth: we’re all biased. The best we can do is acknowledge it, own it, and maybe—just maybe—try to be a little fairer.

I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m saying it’s necessary. Because if we don’t, who will?

Anyway, I gotta run. My editor’s giving me that look again. You know the one.

About the Author: Jane Doe has been a senior editor at New York City’s News for over 20 years. She’s opinionated, flawed, and not afraid to admit it. When she’s not editing, she’s probably arguing about journalism over coffee with Dave or Priya.