Bias Free Media? Think Again

Yesterday, February 28th, while surfing Google News, I stumbled across the idea of checking if the Online media is really progressive and unbiased as we all have come to believe(or in some instances have been made to believe).For my experiment, I searched Google news for following key terms: Angola, Burundi, Nepal, Oscar Awards, Angelina Jolie, Winter Olympics, Mariah Carey, Chinese Government, Hurricane Katrina. The reason I chose these are simple, Angola, Burundi and Nepal are among the poorest nations of this world. Angola has life expectancy of 39 years for men and 42 for women, Burundi has per capita income of $90 (cost of a pair of jeans in the malls), and civil war in Nepal has almost crashed the economy, deepening the poverty crises.

In contrast, far from the troubled poor nations, in glamorous Kodak theater Oscar Award celebrates the bold and beautiful of Hollywood. Rich and beautiful people celebrate the evening with fine wine and delightful gourmet meals. Angelina Joile, once wild actress now has taken up the role of "do-good" princess for Africa and Asia. Winter Olympics, celebrates the true spirit of sportsmanship. Mariah Carey (do I have to describe her..?).Chinese government, leading the red revolution beyond the nation's borders, and Hurricane Katrina, six months later hundreds of people are still without a home, water or electricity in the most powerful nation.

What I found made it clear, online media like it print counterpart has bias against the sad stories, not so pretty pictures. It thrives on gossip, and the digital divide has made sure the rich nations feed more into it than the ones lagging behind. Google news search with Angola gave out 2,880 results, Burundi: 1,060 and Nepal 8,760.Compare it with Oscar Award:11,200, Angelina Jolie:3,710,Winter Olympics:51,900,Katrina: 64,400, Chinese Government: 21,100.