So what is bias in television? The Real Lives documentary on the I.R.A. was said to be bias towards terrorism and Leon Britton insisted that 20 seconds be added to show the devastation caused by the I.R.A.s explosions. "Death on the Rocks" was a highly controversial documentary about the S.A.S. shootings in Gibraltar. The Government set up an inquiry under Lord Windelsham to investigate accusations of bribing although no such evidence was ever found. Sceptics could ask why Thames who made the documentary lost their franchise although out bidding its rivals. This conflict between Government and television. is nothing new, Edward Heath claimed there was bias in a documentary "A Question of Ulster" and Anthony Eden fell out with the B.B.C. over the coverage of Suez. This was nothing compared to the fuss created when sources close to the government called the B.B.C. treasonous for their "unpatriotic" neutral stance in the coverage of the Falklands War. The opposition, Neil Kinnock in particular, have also fallen out with the television networks, claiming they were pro Tory in outlook and style. Was this bias in the eye of the beholder?
The main aim of television is to win the battle of the ratings and programmes such as Panorama and World in Action investigate those in, and who have, power in society. Because the Government have control over all of society it is inevitable they will come under scrutiny. The same applies to the opposition as they may soon become the government. The Government are always given their chance to reply in programmes that interrogate their actions such as Walden, Newsnight or Question Time. Jeremy Paxman, whose interviews are often criticised as being to hard, responded by saying "Government and politicians should be accountable to us, not us to them. " The television therefore can be said to be the watchdog of the people.
During elections the opposition parties come under closer scrutiny but research by Prof. Peter Golding (1992) suggests that there is no bias in reporting on television during elections. Each party gained as much time as was proportioned to them and no leader had a monopoly on "soundbites" with all three main leaders averaging between 22 & 24 seconds. This cannot be said to be true of the press who Neil Kinnock blamed for his loosing the general election.
The press have no constraints on bias. In a Gallup Survey (1991) 79% of those questioned believed what they saw on television where as only 6% believed what they read in the papers. This may be because 80% of the press is owned by three corporations. With the death of Robert Maxwell it is unclear if M.G.M. and its 11.7 from essaybank.co.uk million circulation will lose its left wing stance. Both its rivals News International and United Newspapers, 10.2 and 7.1 million circulation respectively, are conservative with both a small and large "C". This is because newspapers are big business and traditionally the Conservatives are seen as the party for business while Labour is linked with the trade unions. During the eighties Mrs Thatcher helped smash the restrictive practices of Fleet Street trade unions. She was, through her press secretary, keen to foster relations with the press. Even the journalists also generally belong to the A,B social class associated with the Conservatives. With salaries on average £32,500 and editors earning £75,000 upwards Cal McCrystal (1992) suggests that Labours tax plans at the last election alienated journalists because they stood to lose most under the new scheme therefore McCrystal questions their impartiality in covering such issues.
There are no restrictions on advertisements in the press and the Natural Law Party even used it to launch its manifesto. The Fleet Street giants have tended to include less political debate since the 1960's. This decline is a direct affect of the circulation wars, with bingo and boobs selling more papers than the drudgery of political debates. Newspapers sell on sensation and dramatic headlines summed up by a quota of an unknown author "News is the making public of something someone wished to keep secret". To this end it can be said that bad news is good news and people like to see other people trodden on.
When Neil Kinnock talked of the "...Tory rockvielers released" he was referring to the magnetic effect of election bias. The Tory press do not step out of line during elections although they often criticise once it is over. John Major has lurched from one crisis to another with the flames fanned by the press but during the election such headlines as "Last person leaving the country please switch out the light" referred to Labour and not him. Does this constitute bias, well a pluralist democrat may suggest not, John Whale spoke of the "...media doing more to co-oberate rather than create public opinion. " In a free market society if people did not want to buy the papers then they wouldn't. In fact most people take little interest in paper politics and a third of Sun readers thought it was a Labour paper.
If there is bias but, as suggested nobody takes any notice of it, then would this be all right? Only if we understand who sets the political agenda. The alternative view to pluralist, close to Marxist views, is that of the media being used as a tool of the ruling class. Easy stories can be obtained from the lobby system where selected journalists have access to ministers and others for off the record news. These journalists can become lazy and except whatever stories are fed to them. These journalists are used as instruments to sell the agenda required and this plays to the status quo reinforcing the ruling class view of politics. This consensus benefits the ruling class to the extent that the working class voice is never heard. The Morning Star headline "Wildcat Tory Peers carry their wrecking tactics to the Lords" would never be seen in the Sun. The idea of workers at the factory gate and managers at their desks reinforces this ruling class authority. This was studied by Glasgow University (1976) when Harold Wilson gave a speech at B.L.Cowley blaming both management and car workers but the night time news read "P.M. hits out at car workers." In 1977 the Allen report on broadcasting agreed that unions were misrepresented but technical constraints rather than bias was given as the main reason. Allens report highlighted the "...professional error of putting compelling camera work before news."
Whichever view you take of the media it only plays a minor role in the social perceptions of politics. From when you are born socialisation begins and creates your political indoctrination through the medium of those who are close to you such as relations and friends. The bias of the media must take a back seat to the priority of selling the news. Bias, if it does exist, only belongs in the eye of those who believe it to be true and these people could be said to be on the losing side anyway, in the words of Mandy Rice Davies "They would say that wouldn't they."
