Po co komu Kapitol? Stronniczość przekazów medialnych w Polsce, Rosji i Niemczech

Abstract

The article concerns media bias using examples of public media in three countries: Poland, Russia, and Germany. The study aims to compare the degree of bias between television news outlets when covering the events of Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021. The main research method used was the content analysis of news programming by public media outlets. 73 journalistic materials were coded, and the categorisation key contained 85 research categories. Quantitative methods were used to calculate the statistical significance of differences between broadcasters. Findings supported the hypothesis that bias exists in various forms and different intensities, as well as across many media, especially in Europe. In addition, biased silence, i.e., the avoidance of uncomfortable topics, may misrepresent the image of reality reported by the media. As a result, the recipient receives a distorted picture of the world, oriented towards ideas with which the editors sympathise, although it is extremely difficult to determine the direction of this sympathy.