Abstract
A media bias is empirically identified in the page space allocation for news articles in Japanese local newspapers. The existence of such bias can be empirically identified by the correlation between an index representing a characteristic of the selected articles and external factors, indicating that the appearance of reality is subject to change depending on external factors. Identifying the correlation needs an econometric model because the level of bias is determined endogenously. The model constructed in this paper is a simultaneous equation model with two endogenously determined variables, level of bias and profit. The model is applied to explain large variance observed in a scandal reporting by 46 local newspapers in Japan. The scandal concerned the former Minister of South Korea. There is a reason to assume that the articles are not to convey the information about international affairs but to entertain readers. Papers that devoted more spaces for the scandal reporting should have abandoned the opportunity to convey the reality in the globe as faithfully as possible. The empirical result shows that readers in Japan tend to appreciate less informative news and the directors/editors face trade-off between conveying more information and earning more profit. The higher voter turnout for the ruling conservative party shifts the preference of the paper in the direction for more intense reporting, while the larger circulation number tends to make the paper strive to avoid over-reporting. Thus, observed structure of resource allocation for the scandal is considered to prove the existence of a bias.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Media Bias, Estimating Bias, Local Newspapers in Japan
