Bias And Outside Influence in Music Journalism
Biases heavily impact journalism. While music journalism is not as high stakes as other topics, biases still have an influence.
In the last few decades, today’s world seems as polarised as ever. Information cycles spin ever faster while trust in journalism is continuously declining. The tendency to actively avoid news is rising in Switzerland and many other countries.
In the tension between traditional journalism, blogging, and influencers, we also meander with Negative White.
However, our subject—music—is often less controversial than your daily news. Nevertheless, we need to address specific topics within our realm of work as we believe that transparency is crucial to help assess our reporting and decision-making in general.
Definition of Bias
Bias is the inclination to favour or maintain a particular perspective or opinion, often without considering other viewpoints or evidence. Bias can be conscious or unconscious and can take various forms, such as racial, gender, or political bias. It can also be influenced by personal experiences, cultural background, and societal norms.
Bias can have significant consequences, particularly in decision-making processes, where it can lead to unfair treatment or discrimination. Recognising and addressing bias is crucial to ensure fairness and equity in all aspects of life.
With that said, we also can conclude that music reporting certainly has way lower stakes when it comes to biases than, for example, political or business journalism. However, biases are still affecting our reporting nonetheless.
