NPR Blogger Talks Bias with American University Students

Gene Demby and Prof. Barry Gordemer listening to a student's
question in a Writing for Communications class, Thursday,
Oct. 9, 2014 at American University (Photo by Bose Mpuchane).

NPR blogger Gene Demby said writers should always be "well-informed about a topic and not go with the assumption."  He does not believe objectivity actually exists, but that bias in writing can be minimized. He spoke last Thursday at American University.

Demby wrote earlier this year in his Code Switch blog about how few Asian-Americans there were in professional basketball. He found there were only 15 in Division I college basketball between 2012 and 2013. He asked other people why they thought this was so. Many guessed that Asian Americans don't play basketball because they're too short or too busy studying; highlighting the stereotype that the sport is only for tall people. A reason Demby found for the lack of Asian-Americans is that they're being overlooked.

One example is  NBA player Jeremy Lin, a former member of the New York Knicks. He apparently only got to play after the Knick's power forward, Carmelo Anthony, got injured. This was despite the fact that Lin has an impressive game-playing record, including helping his high school team win the 2006 Division II state title his senior year in Palo Alto, California.

Demby decided to look for other biases that have existed in the sport's history. He found that college basketball was dominated by Jews in the 1920s. It was believed they were only good at the game because they were short and crafty. These reasons are similar to those people give today for the small number of Asian-Americans in basketball. The change in criteria of what makes a good player, from short and smart to tall and sporty, showed that stereotypes are always changing and can't be relied on.

Other examples of bias can be seen in written news media. In a recent Washington Post article, Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Steven Rich talk about the negative image police have recently gained by spending money acquired from raids on seemingly unnecessary things.  The author  refers to police in general terms rather than specifying which department is doing this. This reflects bias because the author implies all police are involved in wasteful spending, which the reader later on finds out is not the case. A more objective article would use language like: A recent Justice Department report has shown that a number of police departments have been using money collected in raids on non-work related things. Some of the items include rental of a clown, luxury cars, and a coffee maker. The departments involved are those in the Equitable Sharing program, which allows 5400 departments nationwide to keep 80 percent of raid merchandise.  

Another example can be seen in the language used by Petula Dvorak here. She reports the latest story of a female teacher having sex with a male student. Dvorak  uses stereotypes, right from the start, to try to convince the reader that this teacher does not look like a sex offender. Her leads reads: "Think alleged sexual predator, and 22-year-old substitute teacher Symone Greene is not who comes to mind." She then lists all of Greene's accomplishments, including her past jobs and her sign language abilities. Dvorak implies that being a young female and functioning member of society are criteria for what doesn't make a sex offender. Dvorak could have written: A 22-year old substitute teacher in the District of Columbia allegedly had sex with a student. Symone Greene committed a serious crime, a fact some people have ignored in social media, asking for her pictures and congratulating the victim.