How Do Perceptions Differ When Reading CNN vs Fox News? An Experiment Provides Clues

The media is full of biases… but that’s common knowledge. However, what if those biases have more of an effect on us, the consumers, than we may think?

What if it’s not just our political views that might be controlled through biased news, but also our emotions and sense of trust? To how great of an extent might this occur? Curious as to how this plays out in society — specifically with teenagers — I interviewed 25 random students at a downtown Chicago high school.

With each interview, I showed the student one of either a CNN (Left bias) article or a Fox News (Right) article — two news sources that represent the more polarized sides of the political news spectrum. The catch? Both articles were identical. With the content and headlines being exactly the same, the only difference between the two images displayed was the news outlet's logo.

The reactions from students were not at all as one might expect … watch to find out!

Leo Necheles is the Co-Editor-In-Chief Executive of the Jones Blueprint at Jones College Prep in Chicago; producer and founder of the Blueprint's brand new broadcast/podcast program; and a Hub Manager/Editor-In-Chief for the international BBYO News. He has a Center bias.

This piece was reviewed and edited by Managing Editor Henry A. Brechter (Center bias).