Your biases are showing

Mainstream media is in the gun. But it's actually your fault. Here, then, is a simple guide to how media cover the news.

- STEPHEN DAVIS

Angry attacks on the "mainstream" media are flooding social media feeds in the previously peaceful oasis of Aotearoa. 

Why, demanded tweeters, are the biased media picking on the mayor of Wellington while ignoring other political misbehaviour?

Why was there so much coverage of billionaires on a mini-sub and not drowning migrants in the Mediterranean?

Why all the Ukraine coverage while ignoring other wars? What about the Palestinians?

Some critics are echoing the tactics of the Trumps and Putins of this world or are conspiracy theorists who are deep down the rabbit hole. But many are Kiwis who appear genuinely mystified about why some stories get more prominence than others.

Why does any of this matter? Because a successful society is built on trust. Distrust of the media, studies show, leads to divisiveness, which can quickly turn to violence.

Journalists have consistently failed to explain what we do. So for conspiracy theorists, media haters and the confused, here is a simple guide to media decision-making.

GRUESOME NUMBERS GAME 

Students on my courses in London, Sydney, Melbourne and Dunedin were introduced to a mysterious concept called the news cycle. They had to follow a story across a day and a night and see how it was covered by the media.

I told them when I worked the midnight to 8am shift at the BBC in London, many of the stories were from Australia and New Zealand, but these stories did not make the day-shift bulletins.