Bias in Balanced MediaIn mainstream American media, we, as viewers, have given the mass media expectations to meet in order to meet our demands. Concretely, when it comes to television news, newspapers or any other journalistic product, we want certain ideals to be expressed in their works. One of these ideals is the balance of these discussion groups. We expect them to be non-partisan and neutral, providing equal coverage to both sides, without any form of bias favoring one end. The other ideal is to lead the people towards the path of “Enlightenment”. We expect the media to be knights against the powerful, to support the weak and lead them to the truth. Problems arise, however, when trying to practice these two ideals together. The problem is that it's essentially a cover-up for the reporter, where we, the viewers who expect these ideals, are shown up, but the reporter can still take a side without literally stating it. When the news tries to live up to either or both of these ideals, it no longer becomes the figure of neutral or leading news that the public can trust. This results in either a biased perspective or misleading information production. The media's attempt to implement these two ideals results in what Ross Douthat calls "bipartisan thinking." "[...] journalists fetishize centrism and negotiation, and assume that the best of all possible laws, whatever its actual content [...]" (Douthat 86). Bipartisan thinking is the idea that a journalist takes the best arguments or agreements from the party sides to appear neutral and informative. They show themselves equals on both sides, and by accepting the compromise of both, they show their progress towards a better future. However these two ideals ...... middle of paper ...... to would be considered to take sides. On the other hand, when they try to lead the viewer towards this “enlightenment”, they no longer remain non-partisan. I believe, however, that remaining neutral is the ultimate goal that the news media should attempt to achieve. The reason is that trying to remain neutral offers both sides of the coin rather than just one. It brings together both types of audiences and is able to inform both sides equally about the opponents' arguments. Rather than isolating the viewer into a single ideology, they can open their eyes and minds to other ideas to expand their knowledge. Although it is unlikely that it will be possible to achieve ideal neutrality, the effort to provide and acknowledge the other side shows greater concern as a whole. With enlightenment, it restricts the thinking of individuals. Neutrality is the best way to inform, whether slightly biased or not.