There is no denying the fact that journalism has changed. Newspaper articles go online, complex articles become condensed and updates get shorter and shorter every decade. One facet of journalism that should not change with time, however, is objectivity. These days, too many reporters weave their own opinions into their stories, making for a skewed view of world news. Bias in the media insidiously sways opinions, hinders open debate and promotes ignorance.

Most news networks have some inclination toward one side of politics. Traditionally, Fox News is conservative, NBC is liberal and CNN is somewhere in the middle. But even if an entire network is generally objective, if individual stories are opinionated, the viewers’ perceptions can be seriously manipulated. On studentnewsdaily.com, samples of biased reporting have been archived since 2005. The fact that an archive exists solely to document bias in reporting is a testament to its ubiquity. And while this phenomenon is relatively new, it is growing, and it is destructive.

“One-sided stories lead to one-sided people, and people unwilling to compromise can be dangerous,” said senior Emily Owen.

Bias in the media also hinders healthy debate among the American people. This phenomenon is seen all over the world in countries that strictly oppress their citizens. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, China, Ethiopia, Burma and Egypt are some of the worst offenders of journalist imprisonment. These countries have governments in which free speech is very limited. But the question remains: are journalists in prison because their governments are oppressive, or are these governments oppressive because the journalists are in prison? Unless citizens are presented with all the facts and all the sides of an argument, debate and modern democracy cannot survive.

Additionally, overly opinionated news stories have a subtle way of keeping their viewers ignorant. Informed people should have an open mind and a wide perspective on world issues; if the only way someone learns about world issues is through a narrow lens, that person will be neither intelligent nor informed. This kind of ignorance can be extremely destructive and lead to mean-spiritedness, harassment and even violence. Although many people still do not obtain general awareness, being informed is vital.

Even as journalism mutates and changes as time progresses, its fundamental tenets must be maintained. Objectivity is essential to keep American citizens’ ideas their own. If news networks continue to be one-sided, the utilization of mainstream journalism as a reliable source of information will cease to exist. Although bias may never be totally separate from the media, Americans must at least be aware of the presence of bias and assume the responsibility to get all the facts to form their own opinions.